Summary of Issue: Agriculture *

Decision A0256.07 Full Text of Decision A0256.07

The claimant, being the sole owner of a farm, has been working full time for 13 years for a company. He was working on his farm at nights, during the weekends and during his holidays. In its decision, the FCA stated that the BOR and the Umpire failed to apply correctly the objective test of Regulation 30(2) which requires an objective evaluation of the factors set out in Regulation 30(3) to conclude that the claimant's engagement in his farming business was such that he would not normally have relied on that level of engagement as a principal means of livelihood. The Court concluded that based upon the record, the application of the objective test contained in Regulation 30(2) to the circumstances of the claimant, in light of the factors contained in Regulation 30(3), reveals that at least four of the relevant factors point to the conclusion that the claimant's engagement in his farming business during the benefit period was minor in extent. The Court held that in the present case, when all six factors are viewed objectively, the only reasonable conclusion is that it would not have been normal or reasonable for the claimant to have relied on that level of engagement as his principal means of livelihood.