The Universal Credit (Coronavirus) (Self-employed Claimants and Reclaims) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make further provision for universal credit in relation to the outbreak of coronavirus disease.

Regulation 2 provides for the treatment of certain payments made to self-employed claimants. A payment under the Self-employment Income Support Scheme announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 26th March 2020 is to be treated as a receipt for the purposes of calculating the claimant’s self-employed earnings in the assessment period in which it is received. No deduction may be made in the calculation of those earnings in respect of the salary or wages paid to a claimant’s employee which are covered by a payment under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 20th March 2020. A payment under CJRS, or any loan or grant to meet the losses or expenses of the claimant’s business in relation to the outbreak of coronavirus disease is to be disregarded in the calculation of the claimant’s capital.

Hard copies of the Self-employment Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme can be obtained from CJRS Policy, 3C/15 100 Parliament Street, Westminster, London SW1A 2BQ.

Regulation 3 inserts a new regulation 31A in the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016 No. 220). The new regulation makes provision for awarding or re-awarding universal credit where no award is made on a person’s initial claim, or where a person ceases to be entitled to an award. It allows the Department to treat the person as re-claiming universal credit for up to 5 assessment periods after an assessment period in which they were found not to be entitled on account of their income.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact, or no significant impact on the private, public or voluntary sectors is foreseen.