Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978

132 Recoupment of unemployment benefit and supplementary benefit. E+W+S

(1) This section applies to payments which are the subject of proceedings before industrial tribunals, and which are—

(a) payments of wages or compensation for loss of wages; or

(b) payments by employers to employees, under Part II F1 or V or section 53 or in pursuance of an award under section 103 of the M1 Employment Protection Act 1975; or

(c) payments by employers to employees, of a nature similar to, or for a purpose corresponding to the purpose of, such payments as are mentioned in paragraph (b);

and to payments of remuneration in pursuance of a protective award under section 101 of the said Act of 1975.

(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision with respect to payments to which this section applies for all or any of the following purposes—

(a) enabling the Secretary of State to recover from an employer, by way of total or partial recoupment of unemployment benefit or [F2 income support], a sum not exceeding the amount of the prescribed element of the monetary award or, in the case of a protective award, the amount of the remuneration;

(b) requiring or authorising the tribunal to order the payment of such a sum, by way of total or partial recoupment of either benefit, to the Secretary of State instead of to the employee;

(c) requiring the tribunal to order the payment to the employee of only the excess of the prescribed element of the monetary award over the amount of any unemployment benefit or [F2 income support] shown to the tribunal to have been paid to the employee, and enabling the Secretary of State to recover from the employer, by way of total or partial recoupment of the benefit, a sum not exceeding that amount.

(3) Without prejudice to subsection (2), regulations under that subsection may—

(a) be so framed as to apply to all payments to which this section applies or one or more classes of those payments, and so as to apply both to unemployment benefit and [F3 income support] or only to one of those benefits;

(b) confer powers and impose duties on industrial tribunals, on [F4 a benefit officer within the meaning of the M2 Supplementary Benefits Act 1976] and on insurance officers and other persons;

(c) impose, on an employer to whom a monetary award or protective award relates, a duty to furnish particulars connected with the award and to suspend payments in pursuance of the award during any period prescribed by the regulations;

(d) provide for an employer who pays a sum to the Secretary of State in pursuance of this section to be relieved from any liability to pay the sum to another person;

(e) confer on an employee [F5 a right of appeal to a social security appeal tribunal against any decision of an adjudication officer as to the total or partial recoupment of income support in pursuance of the regulations;]

(f) provide for the proof in proceedings before industrial tribunals (whether by certificate or in any other manner) of any amount of unemployment benefit or [F3 income support] paid to an employee; and

(g) make different provision for different cases.

(4) Where in pursuance of any regulations under subsection (2) a sum has been recovered by or paid to the Secretary of State by way of total or partial recoupment of unemployment benefit or [F6 income support, no sum shall be recoverable under the Social Security Act 1986, and no abatement, payment or reduction shall be made by reference to the income support recouped.]

(5) Any amount found to have been duly recovered by or paid to the Secretary of State in pursuance of regulations under subsection (2) by way of total or partial recoupment of unemployment benefit shall be paid into National Insurance Fund.

(6) In this section—

• “monetary award” means the amount which is awarded, or ordered to be paid, to the employee by the tribunal or would be so awarded or ordered apart from any provision of regulations under this section;

• “the prescribed element”, in relation to any monetary award, means so much of that award as is attributable to such matters as may be prescribed by regulations under subsection (2);

• F7 “unemployment benefit” means unemployment benefit under the M3 Social Security Act 1975.

Textual Amendments

F1 “, III" repealed by Social Security Act 1986 (c. 50, SIF 113:1), s. 86(2), Sch. 11

F2 Words substituted by Social Security Act 1986 (c. 50, SIF 113:1), s. 86(1), Sch. 10 Pt. II para. 50(a)

F3 Words substituted by Social Security Act 1986 (c. 50, SIF 113:1), s. 86(1), Sch. 10 Pt. II para. 50(b)(i)

F4 Words substituted by Social Security Act 1980 (c. 30, SIF 113:1), Sch. 4 para. 13(1)

F5 Words substituted by Social Security Act 1986 (c. 50, SIF 113:1), s. 86(1), Sch. 10 Pt. II para. 50(b)(ii)

F6 Words substituted by Social Security Act 1986 (c. 50, SIF 113:1), s. 86(1), Sch. 10 Pt. II para. 50(c)

F7 Definition repealed by Social Security Act 1986 (c. 50 SIF 113:1), s. 86(2), Sch. 11

Marginal Citations

M1 1975 c. 71.

M2 1976 c. 71.

M3 1975 c. 14.