The Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992

Normal weekly earnings of self-employed earners

17.—(1) Subject to regulation 19 (periods to be disregarded), where a claimant’s income consists of earnings from employment as a self-employed earner, his normal weekly earnings shall be determined, subject to paragraph (2), by reference to his weekly earnings from that employment—

(a) except where sub-paragraph (b) applies, over a period of 26 weeks immediately preceding the week in which the date of claim falls;

(b) where the claimant provides in respect of the employment a profit and loss account and, where appropriate, a trading account or a balance sheet or both, and the profit and loss account is in respect of a period of at least 6 months but not exceeding 15 months and that period terminates within the 12 months preceding the date of claim, over that period; or

(c) over such other period of weeks preceding the week in which the date of claim falls as may, in any particular case, enable his normal weekly earnings to be determined more accurately.

(2) In paragraph (1)(b)—

(a) “balance sheet” means a statement of the financial position of the employment disclosing its assets, liabilities and capital at the end of the period in question;

(b) “profit and loss account” means a financial statement showing the net profit or loss of the employment for the period in question; and

(c) “trading account” means a financial statement showing the revenue from sales, the cost of those sales and the gross profit arising during the period in question.

(3) Subject to regulation 19, where the claimant has been in employment as a self-employed earner for less than the period specified in paragraph (1)(a), his normal weekly earnings shall be determined by reference to an estimate of his likely weekly earnings over the 26 weeks following the date of claim.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation, the claimant’s earnings shall be calculated in accordance with Chapter IV of this Part.