Xmas bonus ends housing benefit entitlement

Good afternoon

I’m currently helping a client who’s housing benefit ended due to a bonus paid in their monthly wage at Xmas.
This increase in income caused the clients HB award to be £0 and the claim ended.
Wages returned to normal in January.

Should the spike in earnings be averaged over 2 months?

Thanks

Could you argue that the bonus is for work done throughout the year, and so should be divided up and added as earnings throughout the previous year?

I guess it might depend on how the bonus is described

Even if you do not succeed in the averaging argument, I would assume that by the time the LA made the decision, their earnings would have been lower again, so this should have been dealt with as a closed period supersession, and entitlement should not have ended. If this is correct, you should request they revise their decision to terminate the claim.

HB Reg 29(3) provides

(3) Where the amount of a claimant’s earnings changes during an award the relevant authority shall estimate his average weekly earnings by reference to his likely earnings from the employment over such period as is appropriate in order that his average weekly earnings may be estimated accurately but the length of the period shall not in
any case exceed 52 weeks.

This could provide you with amunition to appeal the decision to end the award

I would not bother asking for revision just go straight to appeal

If the LA dont provide a submission within a month, send copies of everything direct to HMCTS citing R(H)1/07 .  It was held in RH)1/07 that a Tribunal can admit an appeal even when the LA had not referred the appeal to the Tribunal