The 2012 scheme came into force on 30 September 2012 and applies to all claims received on or after 27 November 2012. It is less generous than previous schemes, with certain minor injuries removed altogether and others reduced in value. Residency criteria now mean that most applicants must be ordinarily resident in the UK, or a British or EU citizen. The rules on criminal convictions are more restrictive in that having an unspent criminal conviction that resulted in a prison sentence will mean automatic rejection, no matter what the offence. And claims for loss of earnings, previously always based on the applicant's actual losses up to a maximum of one-and-a-half times the national average wage, are now assessed entirely at the rate of statutory sick pay regardless of the applicant's actual losses. The total maximum award for a claim remains at £500,000, a figure that has remained unchanged since the original tariff scheme in 1996.