The Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

Certain claimants to be treated as having limited capability for work

16.—(1) A claimant is to be treated as having limited capability for work if—

(a) the claimant is terminally ill;

(b) the claimant is—

(i) receiving treatment for cancer by way of chemotherapy or radiotherapy,

(ii) likely to receive such treatment within 6 months after the date of the determination of capability for work, or

(iii) recovering from such treatment,

and the Department is satisfied that the claimant should be treated as having limited capability for work;

(c) the claimant is—

(i) excluded or abstains from work pursuant to a request or notice in writing lawfully made under a statutory provision, or

(ii) otherwise prevented from working pursuant to a statutory provision,

by reason of it being known or reasonably suspected that the claimant is infected or contaminated by, or has been in contact with a case of, a relevant disease;

(d) in the case of a pregnant woman, there is a serious risk of damage to her health or to the health of her unborn child if she does not refrain from work;

(e) in the case of a pregnant woman, she—

(i) is within the maternity allowance period (which has the meaning it has in the Contributions and Benefits Act), and

(ii) is entitled to a maternity allowance under section 35(1) or 35B(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act(1);

(f) in the case of a pregnant woman whose expected or actual date of confinement has been certified in accordance with the Medical Evidence Regulations, on any day in the period—

(i) beginning with the first date of the 6th week before the expected week of her confinement or the actual date of her confinement, whichever is earlier, and

(ii) ending on the 14th day after the actual date of her confinement,

if she would have no entitlement to a maternity allowance or statutory maternity pay were she to make a claim in respect of that period.

(g) the claimant meets any of the descriptors at paragraph 15 or 16 of Schedule 3 in accordance with regulation 30(2), (3) and (6) where applicable; or

(h) the claimant is entitled to universal credit and it has previously been determined that the claimant has limited capability for work on the basis of an assessment under Part 5 of the Universal Credit Regulations(2).

(2) In this regulation, “relevant disease” means an infectious disease to which—

(a) section 15(1) of the Public Health Act (Northern Ireland) 1967(3) (power to require person in contact with infectious disease to discontinue employment and compensation therefor.) applies;

(b) regulations 8 and 9 of the Public Health (Ships) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008(4) (examination etc., of persons on ships and powers in respect of persons leaving ships) apply; or

(c) regulations 7 and 8 of the Public Health (Aircraft) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008(5) (examination etc., of persons on aircraft and powers in respect of persons leaving aircraft) apply.

(1)

Section 35(1) was substituted by Article 50(1) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/3147 (N.I. 11)) and amended by paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 1 to the Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 (c. 10 (N.I.)) and Article 68(2) of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015. Section 35B(1) was inserted by regulation 2(5) of S.R. 2014 No. 102 and amended by paragraph 16 of Schedule 1 to the National Insurance Contributions Act 2015 (c. 5)

(2)

S.R. 2016 No. 216

(3)

1967 c. 36: section 15(1) was amended by paragraph 75(c) of Schedule 16 to the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 (S.I. 1972/1265 (N.I. 14)) and Article 32(1) and (2)(c) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (S.I. 1991/194 (N.I. 1))

(4)

S.R. 2008 No. 333

(5)

S.R. 2008 No. 436