Operational Guidelines: Jobseeker’s Allowance Assessment of Spouse/Civil Partner/ Cohabitant’s Earnings

The assessment of means for Jobseeker's Allowance includes the assessment of the earnings of a person's spouse/civil partner/cohabitant from both insurable and self employment.

The main provisions relating to the assessment of a spouse/civil partner/cohabitants 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.

• Married Couples – the term 'spouse' refers to each person of a married couple
• Civil Partners - A 'civil partner' is defined as "each person of a couple who are civil partners within the meaning of section 3 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010". The term 'civil partner' only applies to a person who has registered their civil partnership.
• 'Cohabitants' refers to couples who are living together (both the same or opposite sex). The term 'cohabitant' is defined in the social welfare code in accordance with Section 172 (1) of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act, 2010, which states that "... a cohabitant is one of two adults (whether of the same or the opposite sex) who live together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship and who are not related to each other within the prohibited degrees of relationship or married to each other or civil partners of each other".

The following guidelines are used in order to carry out the assessment:

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 their 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 Child Support Payment rate less means. If the person 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 means assessment

One half of a couple is in receipt of JA and their 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:

The means are applied in full.

Under the means 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.

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.

This initiative will provide Qualified Adults (QAs) currently being paid on a Jobseeker’s Allowance claim, with the opportunity to participate in a Community Employment (CE) Scheme without a requirement for them to make an application for a qualifying payment in their own right. The same rules will apply to a Qualified Adult’s participation in CE as regards duration, training, and development requirements etc., as all other CE participants.

The Increase for a Qualified Adult rate is not payable where the Qualified Adult participates in a CE Scheme. The Jobseeker’s Allowance customer is paid the Personal Rate, paid at the appropriate age-related rate, and a Child Support Payment (if any) at half-rate only. The means from the Spouse/Civil Partner/Cohabitant’s employment on the CE Scheme, are halved, along with any other means assessed on the claim.

The Spouse/Civil Partner/Cohabitant on the CE Scheme is paid a CE Rate, and a Child Support Payment (if any) at half-rate.

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

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 the persons spouse/civil partner/cohabitant in respect of a course of education or training is not assessable for means purposes.

BTEA, BTWEA, 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.

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.

Any maintenance received in respect of a child will no longer be assessed as means on social assistance schemes. Spousal maintenance will continue to be assessed.

Where a person is cohabiting and their civil partner/cohabitant is in receipt of maintenance, this maintenance will continue to be assessable unless it is paid in respect of a child/children of the persons spouse/civil partner/cohabitant.

Any maintenance payment, whether a formal or an informal arrangement or whether procured by way of Court Order or otherwise is assessable as means if paid for the benefit of a child.

Where the other parent continues to pay towards mortgage or rent, this should be considered for the benefit of a child/children and therefore should not be assessed as maintenance received.

Where there are housing costs, any maintenance paid in respect of the spouse only continues to be assessed in the normal manner.

Evidence of the housing costs such as rent/mortgage repayments must be provided by the person.