Work experience earnings count towards income support assessment, finds tribunal - Jersey Evening Post
by Christie Bailey · Jersey Evening PostPosted inNews
Work experience earnings count towards income support assessment, finds tribunal
by Christie Bailey 28 July 202627 July 2026
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STUDENT work experience earnings should count towards a family’s income support assessment, a tribunal has ruled – after a parent was left “understandably confused” as to how the calculations were carried out.
The case before the Social Security Appeal Tribunal centred on how a single parent’s income support entitlement should be affected by earnings received by their son, who was in full-time education but undertook two weeks of work experience at a law firm and worked for a retailer in the summer holidays.
The parent argued that it was wrong for the work-experience earnings to be taken into account and said it was “entirely unclear” how the Social Security Department had calculated the household’s entitlement.
While the tribunal found the department had correctly applied the law, it agreed that the correspondence sent to the family “did not set out in clear and concise terms the way in which the calculation had been carried out”.
It noted that tribunal members themselves had to go through the calculations “step by step” with the department’s officer during the hearing and that proceedings had to be adjourned so the calculations could be set out after the officer was unable to identify where they had been clearly explained in previous correspondence.
The tribunal added: “The calculation and the legislation underlying it is not straightforward and we can appreciate the appellant’s confusion as to how the matter had been dealt with.”
It said “clearer explanations” could have been provided and expressed hope that the department would adopt that approach in future correspondence with income support claimants.
The tribunal also rejected the claimant’s argument that the son’s earnings from his two-week placement at a law firm should be ignored because they were received during work experience.
It ruled there was “no principled basis” for excluding earnings simply because they arose from work experience, saying household income under the law includes all qualifying weekly income.
The tribunal said it “must proceed on the basis that all earnings are treated as household income”.
“To do otherwise would not only create inconsistencies based on individual household dynamics but would also incentivise adult children who are earning to not contribute to the household,” it added.
The department also adjusted its calculations during the review process, resulting in additional payments after finding the claimant had initially been underpaid.
Despite its criticism of the department’s communication, the tribunal concluded that the son’s earnings had been treated in accordance with the law and dismissed the appeal.
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