Explanatory note

Article 28 of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Order”) introduces the back to work bonus for persons who are or have been entitled to income support or a jobseeker’s allowance.

Regulation 1 contains provisions relating to citation, commencement and interpretation.

Regulations 2 to 5 contain extended definitions of terms used elsewhere in the Regulations. Periods of entitlement to a qualifying benefit (regulations 2 and 3) consist of days of entitlement to income support or a jobseeker’s allowance but separated periods are in some circumstances joined together to form a single period of entitlement to a qualifying benefit. Regulation 5 contains rules specifying circumstances in which some periods of entitlement to income support or a jobseeker’s allowance do not count for the purposes of the period of entitlement to a qualifying benefit.

The waiting period (regulation 6) is the first 91 days of the period of entitlement to a qualifying benefit.

Regulation 7 specifies the requirements for the bonus, one of which is that the claimant returns to work or increases his hours of, or earnings from, work, with the result that he is no longer entitled to either income support or a jobseeker’s allowance (“the work condition”).

Regulation 8 details the method of calculating the amount of bonus payable and regulation 9 enables the Department to issue estimates to claimants of their projected level of bonus.

Regulations 10 to 16 contain detailed provisions as to couples who separate or to people who become couples.

Regulations 17 to 21 contain provisions specific to persons attaining pensionable age and trainees, and those who die or are involved in a trade dispute.

The bonus is to be treated as capital for the purpose of assessing the means of claimants to other income-related benefits (regulation 22). Regulations 23 and 24 contain details of claims for the bonus, regulation 25 deals with payments and regulation 26 with transitional matters.

Articles 28 and 36(2) of the Order, the enabling provisions under which these Regulations are made, are brought into operation on 5th February 1996 by virtue of the Jobseeker’s (1995 Order) (Commencement No. 1) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996 (S.R. 1996 No. 26 (C. 3)). Since these Regulations are made before the end of a period of 6 months from the commencement of the said Articles, they are, accordingly, exempt, by virtue of section 150(5)(a) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8), from reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.