The Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989

[F1 Overview and construction of references to payment holidays N.I.

13D.— (1) This Chapter makes provision about the main effects of a moratorium for a company.

(2) The provision made by this Chapter includes restrictions on the enforcement or payment of the debts that are defined by paragraph (3) as pre-moratorium debts for which a company has a payment holiday during a moratorium.

(3) In this Part a reference to pre-moratorium debts for which a company has a payment holiday during a moratorium is to its pre-moratorium debts that have fallen due before the moratorium, or that fall due during the moratorium, except in so far as they consist of amounts payable in respect of—

(a) the monitor’s remuneration or expenses,

(b) goods or services supplied during the moratorium,

(c) rent in respect of a period during the moratorium,

(d) wages or salary arising under a contract of employment,

(e) redundancy payments, or

(f) debts or other liabilities arising under a contract or other instrument involving financial services.

(4) The rules may make provision as to what is, or is not, to count as the supply of goods or services for the purposes of paragraph (3)(b).

(5) Regulations may amend this Article for the purposes of changing the list in paragraph (3).

(6) Regulations may not be made under paragraph (5) unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, the Assembly.

(7) In this Article—

“contract or other instrument involving financial services” has the meaning given by Schedule ZA2;

“monitor’s remuneration or expenses” does not include remuneration in respect of anything done by a proposed monitor before the moratorium begins;

“redundancy payment” means—

(a)

a redundancy payment under Part 11 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 or Part 12 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, or

(b)

a payment made to a person who agrees to the termination of their employment in circumstances where they would have been entitled to a redundancy payment under that Part if dismissed;

“wages or salary” includes—

(a)

a sum payable in respect of a period of holiday (for which purpose the sum is to be treated as relating to the period by reference to which the entitlement to holiday accrued),

(b)

a sum payable in respect of a period of absence through illness or other good cause,

(c)

a sum payable in lieu of holiday, and

(d)

a contribution to an occupational pension scheme.]

F1 Pt. 1A inserted (26.6.2020) by Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (c. 12), ss. 4(1), 49(1) (with ss. 2(2), 5(2))