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Hi,
Going around in a bit of a circle with EU Regs and CB - can anyone help me fit it together?
Clients are UK citizens and they went to Spain with offspring in Autumn 2003 to look for work. Did not actually work until about 12 months had passed but were jobseeking. They claimed no benefits in this period.
UK CB stopped after 12 weeks.
I can see that Spain and the UK have a reciprocal agreement relating to CB but understand that my clients cannot take advantage of it if they fall under the personal scope of the coordination rule in 1408/71.
The summary of this in the Migration and Social Security Handbook (page 296) mentions employed or s/e people who are nationals of a member state. I understand from the following page that I'm to interpret this as a person who is insured under a social security system.
This includes people currently paying insurance contributions or who have in the past been insured (page 297).
So as my folks had worked before going abroad I think they have previously been insured and fall within the personal scope of the coordination rule and can't benefit from a reciprocal agreement between Spain and the UK.
Then, checking the effect of the coordination rules for family benefits I note that they require that a claimant claims from the country in which they last worked. With some exceptions employed people claim in the state where they are employed and jobseekers claim from the state paying their unemployment benefit (page 334/5).
My clients were neither working or claiming unemployment benefit for 12 months. That leaves them claiming from the UK, I think, which is where their last work was.
So, this is where I get stuck. Is the answer that they claim from the UK in that situation except they can't because of the CB residence and presence conditions? Or is the answer that EU Regs trump UK law and so they should be able to claim despite their lack of residence and presence? Or is it that they should have signed on in Spain and claimed unemployment benefit and CB and now it's too late?
Sue
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