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Regulation 98 Earnings of employed earners

(1)

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), “earnings" means in the case of employment as an employed earner, any remuneration or profit derived from that employment and includes —

(a)

any bonus or commission;

(b)

any compensation payment;

(c)

any holiday pay except any payable more than four weeks after the termination or interruption of employment but this exception shall not apply to a person who is, or would be, prevented from being entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance by section 14 (trade disputes);

(d)

any payment by way of a retainer;

(e)

any payment made by the claimant’s employer in respect of expenses not wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the performance of the duties of the employment, including any payment made by the claimant’s employer in respect of—

(i)

travelling expenses incurred by the claimant between his home and place of employment;

(ii)

expenses incurred by the claimant under arrangements made for the care of a member of his family owing to the claimant’s absence from home;

F1(f)

any payment or award of compensation made under section F2112(4), 113, 117(3)(a), 128, F3131 or 132 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (the remedies: orders and compensation, the orders, enforcement of order and compensation, interim relief);

(ff)

any payment or remuneration made under section F428, 34, 64, 68 or 70 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (right to guarantee payments, remuneration on suspension on medical or maternity grounds, complaints to employment tribunals);

(g)

any award of compensation made under section 156, F5...161 to 166, 189 or 192 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 F6 (compensation for unfair dismissal or redundancy on grounds of involvement in trade union activities, and protective awards).

F7(h)

the amount of any payment by way of a non-cash voucher which has been taken into account in the computation of a person’s earnings in accordance with F8Part 5 of Schedule 3 to the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001.

(2)

“Earnings" shall not include–

(a)

F9subject to paragraph (2A), any payment in kind;

(b)

any periodic sum paid to a claimant on account of the termination of his employment by reason of redundancy;

(c)

any remuneration paid by or on behalf of an employer to the claimant in respect of a period throughout which the claimant is on maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leaveF10, shared parental leave F11, parental bereavement leave F12, neonatal care leave or is absent from work because he is ill;

(d)

any payment in respect of expenses wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the performance of the duties of the employment;

(e)

any occupational pension;

(f)

any redundancy payment within the meaning of F13section 135(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

F14(g)

any lump sum payment made under the Iron and Steel Re-adaptation Benefits Scheme

F15(h)

any payment in respect of expenses arising out of the F16claimant participating as a service user.

F17(2A)

Paragraph (2)(a) shall not apply in respect of any non-cash voucher referred to in paragraph (1)(h).

(3)

In this regulation “compensation payment" means any payment made in respect of the termination of employment other than—

(a)

any remuneration or emolument (whether in money or in kind) which accrued in the period before the termination;

(b)

any holiday pay;

(c)

any payment specified in paragraphs (1)(f)F18, (ff), or (g) or (2);

(d)

any refund of contributions to which that person was entitled under an occupational pension scheme.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1

Reg. 98(1)(f)(ff) substituted for reg. 98(1)(f) (7.10.1996) by The Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support (General) (Amendment) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/1517), regs. 1, 22(1)

F2

Words in reg. 98(1)(f) substituted (1.10.2007) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 5) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/2618), regs. 1(1), 8(8)(a)(i)

F3

Words in reg. 98(1)(f) substituted (29.10.2013) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 3) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/2536), regs. 1(1), 6(10)

F4

Words in reg. 98(1)(ff) substituted (1.10.2007) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 5) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/2618), regs. 1(1), 8(8)(a)(ii)

F5

Word in reg. 98(1)(g) omitted (1.10.2007) by virtue of The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 5) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/2618), regs. 1(1), 8(8)(a)(iii)

F6

1992 c.52.

F7

Reg. 98(1)(h) added (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Social Security Amendment (Non-Cash Vouchers) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/1509), regs. 1(1), 2(6)(a)

F8

Words in reg. 98(1)(h) substituted (2.10.2006) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/2378), regs. 1(3), 13(5)

F9

Words in reg. 98(2)(a) inserted (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Social Security Amendment (Non-Cash Vouchers) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/1509), regs. 1(1), 2(6)(b)

F10

Words in reg. 98(2)(c) inserted (31.12.2014) by The Shared Parental Leave and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/3255), arts. 1(2), 7(5)

F11

Words in reg. 98(2)(c) inserted (6.4.2020) by The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/354), regs. 1, 8(5)

F12

Words in reg. 98(2)(c) inserted (6.4.2025) by The Neonatal Care Leave and Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/201), regs. 1(2), 6(5)

F13

Words in reg. 98(2)(f) substituted (1.10.2007) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 5) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/2618), regs. 1(1), 8(8)(b)

F14

Reg. 98(2)(g) inserted (7.4.1997) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/454), regs. 1(c), 2(12)

F15

Reg. 98(2)(h) added (for specified purposes and with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/2655), regs. 1(2)(b), 4(6)

F16

Words in reg. 98(2)(h) substituted (28.4.2014) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/591), regs. 1, 4(3)

F17

Reg. 98(2A) added (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Social Security Amendment (Non-Cash Vouchers) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/1509), regs. 1(1), 2(6)(c)

F18

Word in reg. 98(3)(c) inserted (7.10.1996) by The Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support (General) (Amendment) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/1517), regs. 1, 22(2)

Notes on the whole SI

Textual amendments

F1

1995 c.18.

F2

Section 35(1) is an interpretation provision: it is cited because it contains powers exercised in these Regulations in the definitions of “employment", “jobseeker's period", “pensionable age", “pensionable payments", “training" and “work" and because of the meaning assigned to the words “prescribed" and “regulations".

F3

1992 c.5; section 191 is an interpretation provision and it is cited because of the meaning ascribed to the word “prescribed".

F4

1992 c.4; sections 171D and 171G(2) were inserted by the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (c.18), section 6(1) and have effect for the purposes of the Jobseekers Act 1995 by virtue of paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to that Act. Section 171G(2) is an interpretation provision and is cited because of the meaning ascribed to the word “prescribed".

F5

See section 173(5)(b) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c.5).