Client starts new job on Monday.. In a college, full time, 35 hours per week, earning £227.15 per week gross..

However, she will only be paid during term time, and not during the holidays.

She has one child, aged 17, at college and still gets CB and CTC for her.

She has been told, that during the holidays for the first year, she iwll be in contract but no wages.. But when it comes to the Summer hols in 09, she will be out of contract...

Is she eligible for HB/CTB during the holidays prior to bieng out of contract: ie, the half terms and Christmas..?

Would she be entitled to HB/CTB during the 8 week Summer holiday..

I would have thought HB would average out the wages she will receive duing the 36 weeks she gets paid over the 52 week year.. But not certain.. Or would they just assess on a change of circ during the periods when she gets no income (apart from CTC & CB)..

Hope this make sense...

In my view, the earnings should be averaged over the period of contract - including holidays. While under contract, the holiday would almost certainly form part of a recognisable cycle of work. However, earnings should be nil once the contract ends (assuming there is no new contract lined up).

R(JSA) 8/03 (aka CJSA/1772/2002) may be of particular interest as it is about a teacher who worked under contract. In particular, it looks at the "recognisable cycle" of work.

Hmmm interesting reading that thanks...

She has a full time one year contract with a college.. The college say it is usual practice to only pay in term time for the first year, after which time, it would be pro rata'd..

So next year (if they keep her on) owuldnt present this problem..

So, earnings are to be taken into account (averaged) until June 09 when the summer hols start, and in which she may be entitled to some HB depending on what her income is at that time..

You should read the commentary to reg 5 of the IS regs, particularly that to paragraph3B, to get a better understanding of the issues in these types of cases. I’ve dealt with a few of these down the years. There is good authority for the view that if you have not completed one complete cycle and are on a fixed contract then you have not yet established a recognizable cycle of work.

This is a horrendously complex provision, particularly for those whose hours fluctuate. The lead case is Chief Adjudication Officer v Stafford and Banks (2001) HL, which finally clarified how to calculate the hours over a cycle. The provision is made more complex as different rules apply to JSA and IS/HB following R(JSA) 4/03 (discrimination under EEC law).