Terms & Conditions

[sharonwarner]

Thank you for taking the time to read this urgent plea for help!

I have a claimant who is appealing to Chief Exec. I thought that I had put the claim right after 3 hours on Friday but now have another query!

Claimant was on SSP for a period of time and when the claim was corrected, we had used 1 hour so they didn’t get the additional earnings disregard.

However when I corrected it, as I considered that SSP counted as remunerative work, I amended number of hours to 30 so that we gave them the additional £16.85.

y manager has now found guidance on DWP website that suggests that they would only get the standard earnings disregard and not the additional 16/30 hours but I am not sure who is right.

Could any experts please advise me?

[Stalbansbenefits]

Does the claimant get tax credits and if so, do they get the additional earnings disregard in the assessment of their tax credits?

[sharonwarner]

No, no tax credits in payment at all.

[Stalbansbenefits]

Then they are definitely not entitled to the additional earnings disregard.

Schedule 5(17) of the HB regs states that the claimant must be ‘engaged in renumerative work’ for 30/16 hours per week to be entitled to this.

Regulation 6 states that a person shall not be treated as being in renumerative work on any day there are absent from work through illness.

There is an argument that you should continue to award it if the Inland Revenue have determined that the claimant normally works over 30 hours per week in the assessment of their tax credits, but this obviously doesn’t apply here.

SSP counts as earned income, so they are entitled to the normally earned income disregards, but being off sick doesn’t count as being in renumerative work. So I’m afraid this is one of those rare occassions when your manager is right… 😀

[sharonwarner]

Thank you! 🙁

It is such a concern mainly because I am new at this LA and at my last, we allowed the disregard! Oops! Have already rung them to let them know!

Thank you for taking the time to help me though! Much appreciated and I will now go and make my manager a nice cup of tea to help ease the frown!!

[andyrichards]

I can remember having to tell my manager of the time that a particularly “awkward” customer was appealing the Chief Exec. My manager responded, “he may be appealing to the Chief Exec but he’s not very appealing to me….” 😉

[Author]

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