13. In regulation 50 (persons temporarily absent from Northern Ireland), after paragraph (6) there shall be inserted the following paragraphs—N.I.
“(6A) A member of a joint-claim couple shall be treated, for the purposes of the Order, as being in Northern Ireland where he is a member of a transitional case couple as defined for the purposes of paragraph 8A(2) of Schedule 1 to the Order(1), and as at the date on which Schedule 7 to the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 comes into operation—
(a)he is temporarily absent from Northern Ireland, or
(b)he has made definite arrangements to be temporarily absent from Northern Ireland from some future date,
and that member shall be so treated during any such period of temporary absence from Northern Ireland.
(6B) A member of a joint-claim couple shall be treated, for the purposes of the Order, as being in Northern Ireland during any period of temporary absence from Northern Ireland—
(a)not exceeding 4 weeks where he is in Great Britain and the period of absence is unlikely to exceed 52 weeks;
(b)not exceeding 4 weeks where he is in receipt of a training allowance during the period of absence and regulation 168 (persons in receipt of a training allowance) applies in his case, or
(c)not exceeding 7 days where the absence is for the purpose of attending an interview for employment,
where that member is so temporarily absent as at the date of claim by the other member of that couple.”.
Commencement Information
I1Sch. 2 para. 13 in operation at 19.3.2001, see reg. 1(1)
Paragraph 8A was inserted by paragraph 16 of Schedule 7 to the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/3147 (N.I. 11))