The Jobseeker’s Allowance (Amendment) Regulations 2002

• Citation: S.I. 2002/3072
• Sections: 6

Section 1 Citation and commencement

These Regulations may be cited as the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Amendment) Regulations 2002 and shall come into force—

(a) for the purposes of regulation 5, on the day after the day on which they are made;

(b) for all other purposes, on 1st January 2003.

Section 2 Amendment of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations

The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 shall be amended in accordance with the following regulations.

Section 3 Amendment of regulation 5: exceptions to requirement to be available immediately

In regulation 5—

(a) for paragraph (1) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

(1) In order to be regarded as available for employment—

(a) a person who has caring responsibilities is not required to be able to take up employment immediately, providing he is willing and able to take up employment on being given 48 hours' notice; and

(b) a person who is engaged in voluntary work is not required to be able to take up employment immediately, providing he is willing and able—

(i) to take up employment on being given one week’s notice; and

(ii) to attend for interview in connection with the opportunity of any such employment on being given 48 hours' notice.

(b) in paragraph (5) after the words “take up employment immediately, the” there shall be inserted the words “one week,”;

(c) after paragraph (5) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(6) In this regulation “week” means any period of seven consecutive days.

Section 4 Amendment of regulation 12: volunteers

For regulation 12 there shall be substituted the following regulation—

(12)

(1) Paragraph (2) applies if in any week a person is engaged in voluntary work and—

(a) he has restricted the total number of hours for which he is available in accordance with regulation 7(2), 13(3) or (4) or 17(2); and

(b) the hours in which he is engaged in voluntary work fall in whole or in part within his pattern of availability.

(2) In determining whether a person to whom this paragraph applies is available for employment no matter relating to his voluntary work shall be relevant providing—

(a) on being given one week’s notice, he is willing and able to re-arrange the hours in which he is engaged in voluntary work in order to take up employment at times falling within his pattern of availability; and

(b) on being given 48 hours' notice, he is willing and able to re-arrange the hours in which he is engaged in voluntary work in order to attend for interview at times falling within his pattern of availability in connection with the opportunity of any such employment; and

(c) he complies with the requirements of regulation 6.

(3) In paragraph (2) “week” means any period of seven consecutive days.

Section 5 Amendment of regulation 15: circumstances in which a person is not to be regarded as available

In regulation 15 before paragraph (c) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(bc) if he is on paternity leave or ordinary adoption leave by virtue of section 75A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 ;

Section 6 Amendment of regulation 30: circumstances in which a claimant is to be regarded as having good cause for failing to comply with a notification under regulation 23 or 23A

In regulation 30(a) after “regulation 5(1)” there shall be inserted “(a) or (b)”.