The Principal Act is amended -
(a) in section 40(3), by inserting the following after paragraph (e):
"(ea) notwithstanding paragraph (d), in the case of a person who, on or after 1 May 2007, has been in receipt of illness benefit for not less than 624 days in respect of a period of incapacity for work and who, within the same period of interruption of employment, has subsequent periods of incapacity for work, any 2 such subsequent periods of incapacity for work within that period of interruption of employment not separated by a period of more than 26 weeks shall be treated as one period of incapacity for work,",
(b) in section 41:
(i) by inserting the following after subsection (1)(c)(i):
"(ia) prescribed weekly earnings, in the case of a person who immediately before the week of incapacity for which illness benefit was claimed:
(I) was in receipt of carer's benefit or carer's allowance, and
(II) was in receipt of illness benefit immediately before receiving a payment referred to in su
…