carers and seasonal

calcotti

Picking up on the information provided by bigbill which was new to me too.

Decision makers Guide Chapter 60
60052 When deciding if a person should be treated as being gainfully employed, that person’s earnings should be ignored for any week which is classed as a temporary break in care.

Breaks in care of the severely disabled person

60045 A week when a person does not satisfy the“caring condition”is treated as a week in which that condition is satisfied, if that person

1. has only temporarily ceased to satisfy the“caring condition” and 

2. has satisfied the caring condition for at least 14 weeks in a 26 week period. The 26 week period ends with the first week that person no longer satisfied the caring condition and 

3. would have satisfied it for at least 22 weeks in the 26 week period described in DMG 600452., but for the fact that

3.1 either that person or 

3.2 the severely disabled person

was undergoing medical or other treatment, as an in-patient in a hospital or similar institution.

60046 The effect of DMG 60045 is that a temporary break or series of temporary breaks in care may be ignored. Entitlement to CA will continue provided that the temporary breaks do not amount in total to more than
1. twelve weeks - where the claimant or the severely disabled person has spent at least eight of those weeks undergoing medical or other treatment as an in- patient in a hospital or similar institution or 

2. four weeks - if the temporary break in care is for any other reason in any period of 26 weeks ending with the first week of the temporary break in care.




On the face of it this means that if you fitted work in around 35 hours of care then there isn't a break in care and the earnings have to be taken into account but if you reduce hours of care to below 35 hours there is a break in care and the earnings can be disregarded for a temporary period.

On balance the OP is probably OK but advice would be to tell Carers Allowance unit because they will probably learn of it later anyway (through RTI unless it was cash in hand) and may then simply suspend payment while they investigate.

poppy12345

Thanks for that calcotti. Links do help, which i why i asked bigbill for a link because i'd never heard of this either.