{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/jobseekers-allowance-regulations-northern-ireland-2016/regulation-18",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/jobseekers-allowance-regulations-northern-ireland-2016/regulation-18.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/2016/218",
  "legislation_title": "The Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/jobseekers-allowance-regulations-northern-ireland-2016",
  "path": "regulation/18",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "18",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "For the purposes of this Part—\n“current sanctionable failure” means a failure of the following kinds in relation to which the Department has not yet determined whether the amount of an award of benefit is to be reduced—\n(a)a sanctionable failure,\n(b)an ESA sanctionable failure, or\n(c)a UC sanctionable failure;\n“ESA sanctionable failure” means a failure by a claimant which is sanctionable under section 11J of the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007 ;\n“higher-level sanction” means reduction of a jobseeker's allowance in accordance with Article 8J of the Order;\n“low-level sanction” means a reduction of a jobseeker's allowance in accordance with Article 8K of the Order for a sanctionable failure by the claimant to comply with—\n(a)a work-focused interview requirement under Article 8B(1) of the Order;\n(b)a work preparation requirement under Article 8C(1) of the Order;\n(c)a work search requirement under Article 8D(1)(b) of the Order (requirement to take action specified by the Department to obtain work); or\n(d)a requirement under Article 8G of the Order (connected requirements);\n“medium-level sanction” means a reduction of a jobseeker's allowance in accordance with Article 8K of the Order for a sanctionable failure by the claimant to comply with—\n(a)a work search requirement under Article 8D(1)(a) of the Order (requirement to take all reasonable action to obtain paid work); or\n(b)a work availability requirement under Article 8E(1) of the Order (requirement to be available for work);\n“pre-claim failure” means a sanctionable failure listed in Article 8J(3) of the Order;\n“reduction period” means the number of days for which a reduction in the amount of an award of a jobseeker's allowance is to have effect;\n“sanctionable failure” means a failure by a claimant which is sanctionable under Article 8J or 8K of the Order;\n“total outstanding reduction period” means the total number of days for which no reduction has yet been applied for all of the claimant's higher-level sanctions, medium-level sanctions, low-level sanctions and reductions to which regulation 30 applies;\n“UC sanctionable failure” means a failure by a claimant which is sanctionable under Article 31 or 32 of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in reg. 18 inserted (coming into operation in accordance with reg. 1(7) of the amending Regulations) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (S.R. 2017/116), regs. 1(7), 10(4)"
    },
    {
      "type": "M",
      "label": "M1",
      "text": "2007 C. 2 (N.I.); section 11J was inserted by Article 63(2) of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/2006 (N.I.1))"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2016/218/regulation/18",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T00:56:25.282578+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}