DWP issues guidance on how payments under CJRS and SEISS are treated for purposes of benefits other than universal credit

New DMG Memo sets out treatment of payments in the assessment of income and capital and advises on benefits that cannot be claimed by recipients

The DWP has issued new guidance on how payments under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) are treated for the purposes of benefits other than universal credit.

In DMG Memo 13/20, the DWP sets out guidance to decision makers on the treatment of payments under the two schemes for the purposes of means-tested legacy benefits; contributory employment and support allowance (ESA) and contribution-based jobseeker's allowance (JSA) (including new-style ESA and JSA); carer's allowance; and maternity allowance.

NB - guidance relating to universal credit has been published in ADM Memo 10/20 and ADM Memo 11/20

The guidance includes that -

• for income-related JSA, income-based ESA and state pension credit -
   
  • CJRS and SEISS payments are treated as earnings in the normal way;
  • each SEISS payment will be treated as self-employed earnings over three months from the date of payment; and
  • business grants and loans intended to provide support during the coronavirus outbreak will be treated as payments of capital and will be disregarded as business assets;

• for contributory ESA and contribution-based JSA -
   
  • contribution-based JSA is not payable as both HMRC support payments are to be treated as earned income and the claimant is therefore considered to be engaged in remunerative work (although recipients whose pre-coronavirus weekly hours were fewer than 16 are an exception to this and their part-time earnings should be assessed in the normal way); and
  • contributory ESA is payable as employment status has no relevance to entitlement, and payments from the CJRS and SEISS should be included in the calculation of earned income;

• for carer's allowance -
   
  • payments from both the CJRS and SEISS are considered to be earnings for carer's allowance purposes;

• for maternity allowance -
   
  • maternity allowance is not payable to someone receiving funding under the CJRS; and
  • someone in receipt of funding from the SEISS can continue to work and maternity allowance can therefore be claimed.

DMG Memo 13/20 is available from gov.uk