The Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) Regulations 1996

Interpretation E+W+S

2.—(1)  [F1 In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“adjudicating authority" means any person or body with responsibility under the Social Security Administration Act 1992, and regulations made thereunder, for the determination of claims for benefit and questions arising in connection with a claim for, or award of, or disqualification for receiving benefits;]

[F2 “basic rate” means the rate of income tax of that name determined in pursuance of section 6(2) of the Income Tax Act 2007;]

“benefit week" means —

(a) any period of 7 days corresponding to the week in respect of which the relevant social security benefit is due to be paid, and, where appropriate in respect of payments due to be paid before that week,

(b) the period of 7 days ending on the day before the first day of the first such week following the date of claim or any one of the consecutive periods of seven days prior to that period;

“board and lodging accommodation" means—

(a) accommodation provided to a person or, if he is a member of a family, to him or any other member of his family, for a charge which is inclusive of the provision of that accommodation and at least some cooked or prepared meals which both are cooked or prepared (by a person other than the person to whom the accommodation is provided or a member of his family) and are consumed in that accommodation or associated premises; or

(b) accommodation provided to a person in a hotel, guest house, lodging house or some similar establishment,

except accommodation provided by a close relative of his or of any other member of his family, or other than on a commercial basis;

“claim" means a claim for a benefit, pension or allowance under Parts II to V of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“claimant" means a person claiming a benefit, pension or allowance under Parts II to V of the Contributions and Benefits Act and includes a claimant’s spouse or partner and any adult in respect of whom a claim for an increase in benefit is made under Part IV of that Act;

F3 ...

“close relative" means a parent, parent-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, step-parent, step-son, step-daughter, brother, sister, [F4 or if any of the preceding persons is one member of a couple, the other member of that couple;]

“the Contributions and Benefits Act" means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“couple” means—

(a) a man and woman who are married to each other and are members of the same household;

(b) a man and woman who are not married to each other but are living together as husband and wife;

(c) two people of the same sex who are civil partners of each other and are members of the same household; or

(d) two people of the same sex who are not civil partners of each other but are living together as if they were civil partners;

and for the purposes of sub-paragraph (d), two people of the same sex are to be regarded as living together as if they were civil partners if, but only if, they would be regarded as living together as husband and wife were they instead two people of the opposite sex;; and

[F5 “couple” means—

(a) two people who are married to, or civil partners of, each other and are members of the same household; or

(b) two people who are not married to, or civil partners of, each other but are living together [F6 as if they were a married couple or civil partners];]

“Crown property" means property held by Her Majesty in right of the Crown or by a government department or which is held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, except (in the case of an interest held by Her Majesty in right of the Crown) where the interest is under the management of the Crown Estate Commissioners;

“date of claim" means the date on which the claimant makes, or is treated as making, a claim for a benefit, pension or allowance for the purposes of regulation 6 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 M1 ;

“dwelling occupied as the home" means the dwelling together with any garage, garden and outbuildings, normally occupied by the claimant as his home including any premises not so occupied which it is impracticable or unreasonable to sell separately, in particular, in Scotland, any croft land on which the dwelling is situated;

“earnings" has the meaning prescribed in regulation 9 or, as the case may be, 12, and for the purposes only of sections 80, 82 to 86A and 89 of, and paragraphs 4, 6 and 7 of Schedule 7 to, the Contributions and Benefits Act M2 includes payments by way of occupational or personal pension within the meaning of section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act (interpretation);

“employed earner" means a person who is in gainful employment in Great Britain under a contract of service, or in an office (including elective office) with emoluments chargeable to income tax under Schedule E and includes—

(a) a person in any employment which would be such employment if it were in Great Britain, and

(b) a person in any such employment which, in accordance with the provisions of the Contributions and Benefits Act and of any regulations made thereunder, is to be disregarded in relation to liability for contributions;

“employment" includes any trade, business, profession, office or vocation;

[F7 “integrated care board” means an integrated care board established under Chapter A3 of Part 2 of the National Health Service Act 2006;]

“invalid carriage or other vehicle" means a vehicle propelled by petrol engine or by electric power supplied for use on the road and to be controlled by the occupant;

“lone parent" means a person who has no partner and who is responsible for, and a member of the same household as, a child within the meaning of section 142 of the Contributions and Benefits Act (meaning of “child");

F8 ...

F9 ...

“net earnings" means such earnings as are calculated in accordance with regulation 10(4);

“net profit" means such profit as is calculated in accordance with regulation 13(4);

“occupational pension scheme" has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 M3 ;

“partner" means where a claimant—

(a) is a member of a F10 ... couple, the other member of that couple;

(b) is married polygamously to two or more members of his household, any such member;

“payment" includes a part of a payment;

“pay period" means the period in respect of which a claimant is, or expects to be, normally paid by his employer, being a week, a fortnight, four weeks, a month or other shorter or longer period as the case may be;

“personal pension scheme" has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 and, in the case of a self-employed earner, includes a scheme approved by the Inland Revenue under Chapter IV of Part XIV of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988;

“polygamous marriage" means any marriage during the subsistence of which a party to it is married to more than one person and the ceremony of marriage took place under the law of a country which permits polygamy;

F11 ...

“relevant earnings limit" means the amount of a claimant’s earnings in excess of which the benefit, supplement, allowance, pension or increase in question is not payable;

“retirement annuity contract" means a contract or trust scheme approved under Chapter III of Part XIV of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988;

[F2 “Scottish basic rate” means the rate of income tax of that name calculated in accordance with section 6A of the Income Tax Act 2007;]

[F2 “Scottish taxpayer” has the same meaning as in Chapter 2 of Part 4A of the Scotland Act 1998;]

“self-employed earner" means a person who is in gainful employment in Great Britain otherwise than as an employed earner and includes—

(a) a person in any employment which would be such employment if it were in Great Britain, and

(b) a person in any such employment which, in accordance with the provisions of the Contributions and Benefits Act and of any regulations made thereunder, is to be disregarded in relation to liability for contributions;

“voluntary organisation" means a body, other than a public or local authority, the activities of which are carried on otherwise than for profit;

“week" means a period of 7 days and for the purposes of section 80 of, and paragraph 4(6) of Schedule 7 to, the Contributions and Benefits Act, a period of 7 days being the relevant benefit week;

“year of assessment" has the meaning prescribed in section 832(1) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference—

(a) to a numbered regulation or Schedule is to the regulation in or Schedule to these Regulations bearing that number;

(b) in a regulation or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph in that regulation or Schedule bearing that number;

(c) in a paragraph to a lettered or numbered sub-paragraph is to the sub-paragraph in that paragraph bearing that letter or number.

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 2(1) revoked (E.W.) (29.11.1999) by The Social Security Act 1998 (Commencement No. 12 and Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/3178), reg. 1, Sch. 16 para. 2

F2 Words in reg. 2(1) inserted (6.4.2016) by The Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/267), regs. 1, 2(2)(b)

F3 Words in reg. 2(1) omitted (1.7.2022) by virtue of The Health and Care Act 2022 (Consequential and Related Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/634), regs. 1(2), 12(2)(a)

F4 Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Tax Credits, etc.) (Consequential Amendments) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2919), arts. 1, 16(2)(a)

F5 Words in reg. 2(1) (S) substituted (16.12.2014) by The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 and Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/3229), art. 1(2), Sch. 6 para. 14

F6 Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (2.12.2019) by The Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1458), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 49

F7 Words in reg. 2(1) inserted (1.7.2022) by The Health and Care Act 2022 (Consequential and Related Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/634), regs. 1(2), 12(2)(b)

F8 Words in reg. 2(1) omitted (6.4.2016) by virtue of The Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/267), regs. 1, 2(2)(a)

F9 Words in reg. 2(1) omitted (8.12.2002) by virtue of Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2823), regs. 1(a), 2(2)

F10 Words in reg. 2(1) omitted (5.12.2005) by virtue of Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Tax Credits, etc.) (Consequential Amendments) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2919), arts. 1, 16(2)(c)

F11 Words in reg. 2(1) omitted (1.4.2013) by virtue of The National Treatment Agency (Abolition) and the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (Consequential, Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/235), art. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 32(2)(b)

Marginal Citations

M1 S.I. 1987/1968; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1988/522, 1989/1686, 1990/725, 1990/2208, 1991/2284, 1991/2741, 1993/2113, 1994/2319 and 1996/1460.

M2 Section 80 was amended by section 2(4) of the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (c.18), the Jobseekers Act 1995 (c.18) Schedule 3 and article 8 of S.I.1996/599. Section 82 was amended by the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (c.18), Schedule 1, paragraph 19 and the Jobseekers Act 1995 (c.18), Schedule 2, paragraph 24 and Schedule 3. Section 86A was inserted by section 2(5) of the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (c.18). Section 89 was amended by the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (c.18), Schedule 1, paragraph 26.

M3 1993 c.48.