The Employment Zones (Allocation to Contractors) Pilot Regulations 2004

Referral to an employment zone programme

3.—(1) An employment officer may, on a sampling basis, select a claimant who is aged 25 years or over and ordinarily resident within an employment zone to participate in an employment zone programme with a particular employment zone contractor if, in the period immediately preceding the date on which the selection is made, the claimant—

(a) was entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance for a continuous period of at least 18 months; or

(b) was entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance for a cumulative total of at least 18 months out of the previous 21 months; or

(c) had participated in an employment zone programme pursuant to the Employment Zones Regulations 2000(1), the Employment Zones Regulations 2003(2) or these Regulations in the previous twelve months but did not complete the programme.

(2) An employment officer may, on a sampling basis, select a claimant who is aged 18 years or over but less than 25 years who has participated in a programme of training known as New Deal for Young People(3) and is ordinarily resident within an employment zone to participate in an employment zone programme with a particular employment zone contractor if, in the period immediately preceding the date on which the selection is made, the claimant—

(a) was entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance for a continuous period of at least six months;

(b) was entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance for a cumulative period of at least six months provided that any breaks in that period of entitlement do not exceed a period of 28 days in total; or

(c) had participated in an employment zone programme pursuant to the Employment Zones Regulations 2003 or these Regulations in the previous twelve months but did not complete the programme.

(3) The employment officer shall notify the claimant in writing that he is required to participate in the employment zone programme provided by that employment zone contractor.

(1)

S.I. 2000/721 as amended by S.I. 2000/1279; S.I. 2000/1305; S.I. 2001/261; S.I. 2001/1865 and S.I. 2001/2521.

(2)

S.I. 2003/2438.

(3)

New Deal for Young People is a programme of training and assistance provided in accordance with section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973 (c. 50) to assist people claiming for a jobseeker’s allowance aged 18 years or more but less than 25 years of age to obtain employment.