The State Pension Credit Regulations 2002

Remunerative work

2.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this paragraph, a person shall be treated for the purposes of this Schedule as engaged in remunerative work if he is engaged, or, where his hours of work fluctuate, he is engaged on average, for not less than 16 hours a week, in work for which payment is made or which is done in expectation of payment.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), in determining the number of hours for which a person is engaged in work where his hours of work fluctuate, regard shall be had to the average of hours worked over—

(a) if there is a recognisable cycle of work, the period of one complete cycle (including, where the cycle involves periods in which the person does no work, those periods but disregarding any other absences);

(b) in any other case, the period of 5 weeks immediately prior to the date of claim, or such other length of time as may, in the particular case, enable the person’s weekly average hours of work to be determined more accurately.

(3) Where, for the purposes of sub-paragraph (2)(a), a person’s recognisable cycle of work at a school, other educational establishment or other place of employment is one year and includes periods of school holidays or similar vacations during which he does not work, those periods and any other periods not forming part of such holidays or vacations during which he is not required to work shall be disregarded in establishing the average hours for which he is engaged in work.

(4) Where no recognisable cycle has been established in respect of a person’s work, regard shall be had to the number of hours or, where those hours will fluctuate, the average of the hours, which he is expected to work in a week.

(5) A person shall be treated as engaged in remunerative work during any period for which he is absent from work referred to in sub-paragraph (1) if the absence is either without good cause or by reason of a recognised, customary or other holiday.

(6) A person on income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance for more than 3 days in any benefit week shall be treated as not being in remunerative work in that week.

(7) A person shall not be treated as engaged in remunerative work on any day on which the person is on maternity leave [F1 , paternity leave [F2 , shared parental leave] [F3 , parental bereavement leave] or adoption leave,] or is absent from work because he is ill.

(8) A person shall not be treated as engaged in remunerative work on any day on which he is engaged in an activity in respect of which—

(a) a sports award has been made, or is to be made, to him; and

(b) no other payment is made or is expected to be made to him [F4 ,

and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph, “sports award” means an award made by one of the Sports Councils named in section 23(2) of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993 out of sums allocated to it for distribution under that section]

(9) In this paragraph “benefit week”—

(a) in relation to income support, has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Income Support Regulations;

(b) in relation to jobseeker’s allowance, has the same meaning as in regulation 1(3) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Sch. 2 para. 2(7) inserted (6.10.2003) by The State Pension Credit (Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2274), regs. 1, 2(9)(a)

F2 Words in Sch. 2 para. 2(7) inserted (31.12.2014) by The Shared Parental Leave and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/3255), arts. 1(2), 10(5)

F3 Words in Sch. 2 para. 2(7) inserted (6.4.2020) by The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/354), regs. 1, 10(5)

F4 Words in Sch. 2 para. 2(8) added (6.10.2003) by The State Pension Credit (Consequential, Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/3197), reg. 1(1)(b), Sch. para. 9(c)