CCM5120 - Working the Examination: When is a notice "Given"?

The S14/15/16 notice must state the time by which the information must be provided, and this time should be at least 30 days from the date the claimant(s) will receive the notice. If the notice is hand delivered (for example, if you hand it personally to the claimant(s)) you will know the date of receipt. If the notice is posted you should assume that the second class post takes 4 working days to arrive, and the first class post takes 2 working days. Working days do not include Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays.

Where the claimant(s) has evidence of the day on which the notice was received, the 30 days start on the next day. In practice, you should always arrive at the date by which you expect the information to be provided by calculating 40 days from the date the notice is sent.

Example 1

On 16/7/2003 you send out a S16 information notice, requiring the information to be provided by 25/8/2003: 40 days from the date the notice is sent.

Example 2

On 13/11/2003 you send out a S16 information notice: 40 days from the date the notice was sent would be 23/12/2003. But because there are likely to be extra demands on the postal system over the Christmas and New Year period, you think it would be sensible to allow a few extra days for the claimant(s) to comply. You therefore require the information to be provided by 2/1/2004.