The Income Support (General) Regulations 1987

Notional earnings of seasonal workers

43.—(1) Where the claimant is a seasonal worker or, if he is one of a couple, he or his partner is a seasonal worker (but not both), and—

(a)a claim for income support is made in respect of any day in the claimant’s off-season or, as the case may be, in his partner’s off-season; and

(b)his or, as the case may be, his partner’s net earnings in his last period of normal employment less any earnings for any week in that period which have been taken into account in calculating entitlement to income support, exceeded three times the total of the amounts for that period specified in head (i) or, as the case may be, (ii) of sub-paragraph (a) and, where applicable, sub-paragraph (b) ofparagraph (2),

the amount by which those earnings exceeded that total shall be divided by the number equal to the number of weeks (including any part of a week) in his or, as the case may be, his partner’s off-season and the amount so obtained shall be treated as earnings possessed by the claimant or his partner in each of those weeks.

(2) The amounts specified for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) are—

(a)either—

(i)in a case where the claimant is one of a couple, the personal allowance for a couple; or

(ii)in a case where he is not one of a couple, the personal allowance for a single claimant not less than age 25; and

(b)in respect of each child or young person who is a member of the claimant’s family, the amount which is equal to the applicable amount for a child under age 11.

(3) Where the claimant and his partner are seasonal workers and both have started their, or only one has started his, off-season paragraph (1) shall apply to the claimant or, where his partner is the only one whose off-season has started, to his partner as if he were the only seasonal worker until the end of his off-season and thereafter to the other member subject to the modifications in paragraphs (4) to (6).

(4) The other member’s last period of normal employment shall be—

(a)in a case where that member’s normal employment has ceased, the period beginning with the start of the employment of that member and ending with the last day of that employment;

(b)in a case where that member’s normal employment has not ceased, the period beginning with the start of the employment of that member and ending with—

(i)the day before the start of the off-season of his partner; or

(ii)the date of claim for income support,whichever is the later;

(5) The period of the other member’s off-season shall be—

(a)in a case where that member’s normal employment has ceased, the period beginning with the start of his off-season and ending with the day before he is to resume normal employment; or

(b)in a case where that member’s normal employment has not ceased, the period beginning with the date on which the off-season of either member first starts or, as the case may be, the date of claim for income support whichever is later and ending with the day before that on which either member is first to resume normal employment.

(6) The other member’s net earnings in his last period of normal employment as determined under paragraph (4), less—

(a)any earnings for any week in that period which have been taken into account in calculating entitlement to income support; and

(b)in so far as any week in that period—

(i)does not coincide with a week in his partner’s period of normal employment, 3 times the total of the amounts for that week specified for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b);

(ii)does coincide with a week in his partner’s period of normal employment, the extent (if any) by which the amount so specified has not been taken into account in the calculation of his partner’s notional earnings,

shall be divided by the number equal to the number of weeks (including any part of a week) in that member’s off-season as determined under paragraph (5) and the amount so obtained shall be treated as earnings possessed by that member in each of those weeks.

(7) In this regulation, the expressions “normal employment”, “off-season” and “seasonal worker” have the meanings assigned to those expressions in regulation 21 of the Social Security (Unemployment, Sickness and Invalidity Benefit) Regulations 1983(1) (additional condition with respect to receipt of unemployment benefit) except that the expression “employment” in that regulation shall be construed as if it included a reference to employment as a self-employed earner.

(8) Where a claimant or his partner is treated as possessing any earnings under this regulation the foregoing provisions of this Part, except regulation 38(2) in so far as it applies to paragraph 3 of Schedule 8 (earnings to be disregarded), shall apply for the purposes of calculating those earnings as if a payment had actually been made and as if they were actual earnings which he does possess.