Publication
Operational Guidelines: Jobseeker’s Allowance Assessment of Spouse/Civil Partner/ Cohabitant’s Earnings
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
The assessment of means for Jobseeker's Allowance includes the assessment of the earnings of a claimant's spouse/civil partner/cohabitant from both insurable and self employment.
The main provisions relating to the assessment of spouse/partner's earnings are contained in Rule 1(2), 1(7), of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 and Article 153 of S.I. 142/2007 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated, Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 as amended by Art 10 of S.I. 700/07.
The following guidelines are used in order to carry out the assessment:
From 26th September 2007
A person, whose spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is insurably employed, is assessed with the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant's earnings less allowable deductions.
The means of the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is based on his/her assessable earnings. The assessable income of the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is the gross earnings less PRSI, Superannuation, the pension levy and Trade Union subscriptions (deductions in respect of income tax and Health Insurance premiums e.g. VHI, BUPA, Hospital Saturday Fund etc. are not disregarded).
The family rate is based on a personal rate, a full qualified adult rate and full qualified child rate less means. If the customer has a spouse/civil partner/cohabitant in employment a disregard of €20.00 a day also applies to the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant for a maximum of 3 days a week (maximum €60.00 a week) and the balance is assessed at 60%. Means are applied in full. Means are only halved if the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is getting a Social Welfare/Health Service payment or if they are getting an allowance on a full-time VTOS or SOLAS training course.
EXAMPLE of new assessment
Husband is in receipt of JA and his spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is working 4 days a week in part-time insurable employment with gross income of €120.00 per week. Deductions are as follows: PRSI nil, Superannuation €11.00, Union Dues €6.00, (net €103.00). The income earned by the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is assessed as follows:
Example of New Assessment:
| Gross weekly income from spouse/civil partner/cohabitant's earnings | €120.00 |
| Less PRSI | nil |
| Less Superannuation | €11.00 |
| Union dues | €6.00 |
| Net income from spouse/civil partner/cohabitant earnings = | €103.00 |
| Less disregard (20 X 3) | €60.00 |
| Total = | €43.00 |
| Weekly means (43 x 60%) = | €25.80 |
| Means (rounded) | €26.00 |
| JA Claim: | |
| Personal Rate | €203.00 |
| QA | €134.70 |
| Total | €337.70 |
| Less Means | €26.00 |
| Amount payable: | €311.70 |
The means are applied in full.
Under the new assessment, means are applied in full unless the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is on a Social Welfare payment, HSE payment or on a full time SOLAS/VTOS course and getting an allowance.
The saver clause relates to the halving of means. Where the customer's spouse/civil partner/cohabitant had earnings and the means on the claim were halved then the halving of means may still apply. If customer was in receipt of a higher payment on the 26th September 2007 than he/she would be entitled to under the new assessment a saver should be applied. However, should the customer sign off for more than 4 consecutive weeks the saver will no longer apply.
Special provisions apply to a customer who breaks their claim in the period between 29th August 2007 and 24th October 2007. They may benefit from the saver even if they break their claim more than once or for more than 4 weeks within that period. The deciding factor here is whether they have an entitlement in respect of at least a day in both the four weeks before and the four weeks after 26th September 2007.
Couple, claimant is in receipt of JA and his spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is working 4 days a week in part-time insurable employment with gross income of €120.00 per week. Deductions are as follows: PRSI nil, Superannuation €11.00, Union Dues €6.00, (net €103.00) the income earned by the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is assessed as follows:
Example of Saver Clause:
| Step 1: | ||
| What are claimant's means from his spouse/civil partner/cohabitant's employment? | ||
| Spouse/civil partner/cohabitant net income | €103.00 | |
| Less working spouse/civil partner/cohabitant allowance | €100.00 | |
| Total | €3.00 | |
| Step 2: | ||
| Claimant's entitlement | €204.30 | |
| QA (reduced rate) | €124.80 | |
| Total | €329.10 | |
| Less | €2.00 (Means were halved where the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant's income was greater than €76.18.) (means rounded half means applies) | |
| Amount payable | €327.10 |
Seasonal earnings are assessed during the working season only. Once the working season is over, the means derived from these earnings are no longer assessed.
Note: This provision does not apply to seasonal self-employment.
An increase for a spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is payable on a claim while the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is on a CE Scheme. A spouse/civil partner/cohabitant's earnings from employment on a CE scheme are assessed in the same manner as any other earnings from insurable employment.
Where the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is self-employed, earnings are assessed as gross income less expenses necessarily incurred in exactly the same manner as if the claimant was the person who was self-employed.
See Guideline on Operational Guidelines: Means Assessment
From the 26th September 2007 means are applied in full unless the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is on a Social Welfare payment, HSE payment or on a full-time SOLAS /VTOS course and getting an allowance.
Education/Training Course (incl.SOLAS/ETB)
A training allowance received by a claimant's spouse/civil partner/cohabitant in respect of a course of education or training is not assessable for means purposes.
BTEA, BTWEA, BTWA, PTJI or VTOS.
Any social welfare payments or training allowances received by the claimant's spouse/civil partner/cohabitant in respect of each of the above schemes are disregarded for means purposes.
Note 1:- Although all Higher Education Grants, ESF grants and ETB Scholarship Scheme grants are also disregarded, grants received in respect of other training courses may be assessable.
Note 2:- See also paragraph Deducting Half/Full Means Assessment.
Where a person was entitled to, or was in receipt of JA on any day in the week-ending 18 November 1986 - and where in assessing their means, they were assessed with the value of their spouse/civil partner/cohabitant's income, they continue to receive an allowance in respect of rent or mortgage repayments on the family home. If their claim is broken i.e. a lapse of 52 weeks or more, this saver clause will no longer apply.
The amount of such payments (less PRSI) should be assessed in full.
Where the relationship between the married couple/civil partners has deteriorated to such an extent that they are effectively separated (but without a formal separation agreement), the actual extent to which the spouse's married couple/civil partners income is relevant to a person's means will be established by reference to the facts of the situation.
If a person is living apart from their spouse/civil partner/cohabitant and they are in receipt of maintenance from that spouse/civil partner/cohabitant any monies received by way of maintenance payments including maintenance payments in respect of children are assessed as means. Maintenance from more than one person will be added and assessed. Where a person is cohabiting and their civil partner/cohabitant is in receipt of maintenance, this maintenance is assessable.
Any maintenance payment, whether a formal or an informal arrangement or whether procured by way of Court Order or otherwise is assessable as means.
In assessing the means, housing costs actually incurred by the claimant,(e.g. rent or mortgage payments and/or home improvement loan) up to a maximum of €95.23 per week may be offset against the maintenance payment, with half the balance of the maintenance being assessed as means in the determination of the rate of payment. Housing costs actually incurred by the customer refer solely to money paid for rent or mortgage or repayments of home improvement loan for the residence in which the customer is residing.
Evidence of the housing costs such as rent/mortgage repayments must be provided by the claimant.
Previous Methods of Assessment of Maintenance (prior to 30 April 2003).
If a person is living apart from his/her spouse/civil partner/cohabitant but the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant pays a weekly amount to him/her in maintenance they will be assessed with the cash value of such payments.
Where a person is living apart from his/her spouse/civil partner/cohabitant and in addition to or instead of maintenance payments:
These payments should be treated as a maintenance payment in the normal way with the necessary disregards being applied. (Previously the value of such payments was assessed at €7.00 per week).