The Statutory Sick Pay (Northern Ireland) Order 1991

Small employers' relief

4.—(1) In Article 11 of the 1982 Order, before paragraph (2) (meaning of “contributions payments”) there shall be inserted the following paragraphs—

“(1B) For the purposes of this Article, a payment of statutory sick pay which an employer is liable to make to an employee for any day which forms part of a period of incapacity for work qualifies for small employers' relief if—

(a) on that day the employer is a small employer who has been liable to pay statutory sick pay in respect of that employee for earlier days forming part of that period of incapacity for work; and

(b) the aggregate amount of those payments exceeds the entitlement threshold, that is to say an amount equal to W×R, where— W is a prescribed number of weeks; and R is the appropriate weekly rate set out in Article 9;

and regulations may make provision for calculating the entitlement threshold in any case where the employee’s entitlement to statutory sick pay is calculated by reference to different weekly rates in the same period of incapacity for work.

(1C) If the Department by order so provides for any tax year, the following paragraphs shall have effect for that tax year in substitution for paragraph (1B)—

“(1BB) For the purposes of this Article, a payment of statutory sick pay which an employer is liable to make to an employee for any day in a tax year qualifies for small employers' relief if—

(a) on that day the employer is a small employer who has been liable to make payments of statutory sick pay for earlier days in that tax year in respect of any employees of his; and

(b) the aggregate of any such payments for those earlier days exceeds a prescribed sum.

(1BC) In any case where—

(a) an employer is liable to make two or more payments of statutory sick pay for the same day in a tax year, and

(b) by virtue of the condition in paragraph (1BB)(b), none of those payments would qualify for small employers' relief, but

(c) that condition would have been fulfilled in relation to a proportion of the aggregate amount of those payments, had he been liable—

(i) to pay as statutory sick pay for an earlier day in that tax year, instead of for the day in question, the smallest part of that aggregate that would enable that condition to be fulfilled, and

(ii) to pay the remainder as statutory sick pay for the day in question,

he shall be treated for the purposes of paragraph (1BB) as if he had been liable to make payments of statutory sick pay as mentioned in sub-paragraph (c) instead of as mentioned in sub-paragraph (a).

(1BD) If, in a case not falling within paragraph (1BC)—

(a) an employer is liable to make a single payment of statutory sick pay for a day in a tax year, and

(b) by virtue of the condition in paragraph (1BB)(b), that payment would not qualify for small employers' relief, but

(c) that condition would have been fulfilled in relation to a proportion of that payment, had he been liable—

(i) to pay as statutory sick pay for an earlier day in that tax year, instead of for the day in question, the smallest part of that payment that would enable that condition to be fulfilled, and

(ii) to pay the remainder as statutory sick pay for the day in question,

he shall be treated for the purposes of paragraph (1BB) as if he had been liable to make payments of statutory sick pay as mentioned in sub-paragraph (c) instead of the payment mentioned in sub-paragraph (a).”;

and, without prejudice to Article 36(1), the Department may by regulations make such transitional or consequential provision or savings as it considers necessary or expedient in connection with the coming into operation of an order under this paragraph or the expiry or revocation of any such order and the consequent revivial of paragraph (1B).

(1D) For the purposes of this Article, “small employer” shall have the meaning assigned to it by regulations, and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any such regulations—

(a) may define that expression by reference to the amount of an employer’s contributions payments for any prescribed period; and

(b) if they do so, may in that connection make provision for the amount of those payments for that prescribed period—

(i) to be determined without regard to any deductions that may be made from them under this Article or under any other statutory provision; and

(ii) in prescribed circumstances, to be adjusted, estimated or otherwise attributed to him by reference to their amount in any other prescribed period.

(1E) Whenever the Secretary of State makes regulations prescribing an amount which an employer’s contributions payments must not exceed if he is to be a small employer for the purposes of section 9 of the Social Security and Housing Benefits Act 1982, the Department shall make corresponding regulations for Northern Ireland.

(1F) Section 156(1) of the principal Act (confirmatory procedure) shall apply to any regulations or order under paragraph (1B), (1C), (1D) or (1E) and to any regulations or order contained in a statutory rule which includes any such regulations or order.”.

(2) In paragraph (2) of that Article (meaning of “contributions payments” in paragraphs (1)(a) and (1A)), for the words “and paragraph (1A)” there shall be substituted the words “and paragraph (1D)”.

(3) In Part II of Schedule 5 to the 1986 Order (questions for the Department), in paragraph (b), after sub-paragraph (v) there shall be inserted the words

“or

(vi) the amount of an employer’s contributions payments for any period for the purposes of regulations under Article 11(1D) of that Order;”.

(4) The first regulations made under Article 11 of the 1982 Order by virtue of this Article shall—

(a) specify 6 as the prescribed number of weeks for the purposes of paragraph (1B)(b) of that Article; and

(b) without prejudice to paragraph (1D)(b) of that Article, define a “small employer” as an employer whose contributions payments for the tax year preceding the one in which the day of incapacity for work in question falls did not exceed £15,000.

(5) Any day of incapacity for work falling before 6th April 1991 shall be left out of account for the purposes of paragraph (1B) of that Article.