Partner donating a kidney or liver tissue
When the partner of a client has been accepted as a donor of a kidney or liver tissue, they must provide a medical certificate.
Generally, the partner will continue to receive their current benefit payments. The partner cannot choose to have their benefit cancelled to receive live organ donor income assistance.
Note the partner may continue getting childcare assistance during their recovery period.
The appropriate exemption should be entered in the SWTDA screen in SWIFTT.
Partner with work obligations
If a client decides to donate a kidney or liver tissue, they generally will not be able to meet those obligations and they should not be actively enforced during their recovery time.
If the partner has a 'work obligations in progress' or 'fails their work obligations', the donation of a kidney or liver tissue is considered a 'good and sufficient reason'. The work obligations failure must be overturned in OBMAN. This will remove the failure from the client's 12 month obligation failure count and no sanction will be imposed.
No obligations failure should be enforced:
- for the maximum period of 12 weeks or
- until the partner has recovered from the operation
whichever is earlier.
For more information see:
Legislation
- General obligation to be available for suitable employment, etc section 114 Social Security Act 2018
- Work-test obligations as required by MSD section 146 Social Security Act 2018
- Obligation to undertake and pass drug test section 147 Social Security Act 2018
