The Statutory Sick Pay (Northern Ireland) Order 1991

Reduction in the amounts recoverable by employers who have paid statutory sick pay

3.—(1) In Article 11 of the 1982 Order (recovery by employers of amounts paid by way of statutory sick pay), in paragraph (1)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (a) (which requires regulations to make provision entitling an employer who has made a payment of statutory sick pay to recover the amount so paid by making deductions from his contributions payments), for the words from “a payment” to “by making” there shall be substituted the words

“one or more payments of statutory sick pay in a prescribed period to recover an amount equal to the sum of—

(i) the aggregate of such of those payments as qualify for small employers' relief, and

(ii) an amount equal to 80 per cent. of the aggregate of such of those payments as do not so qualify,

by making”; and

(b) in sub-paragraph (b) (which requires regulations to provide for payments to be made by or on behalf of the Department to employers who are unable to recover by such deductions the whole or any part of any payments of statutory sick pay which they have made), for the words “any payments of statutory sick pay which they have made” there shall be substituted the words “the amounts which they are entitled to recover by virtue of sub-paragraph (a)”.

(2) Paragraph (1A) of that Article (which requires regulations to give an employer who has paid statutory sick pay a right to an amount determined in such manner as may be prescribed) shall cease to have effect.

(3) In paragraph (3) of that Article (provision that may be made by regulations), after sub-paragraph (b) there shall be added the words

“and

(c) provide for the rounding up or down of any fraction of a penny which would otherwise result from calculating the amount which an employer is entitled to recover for any period by virtue of paragraph (1)(a).”.

(4) In consequence of paragraph (1), in section 1(4A) of the principal Act (which with section 128(2A) of that Act provides for payments to be made out of money appropriated for the purpose into the Northern Ireland National Insurance Fund in each financial year of an amount equal to the estimated aggregate of all statutory sick pay and statutory maternity pay paid by employers and others in that year), for the words “paid by employers and others in that year” there shall be substituted the words “recovered by employers and others in that year”.

(5) In Article 24 of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1989(1) (recovery of sums equivalent to benefit from compensation payments), in the definition of “benefit” in paragraph (3), after the word “and” there shall be inserted the words “, subject to regulations under paragraph (3A),”, and after paragraph (3) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(3A) If statutory sick pay is prescribed as a relevant benefit, the amount of that benefit for the purposes of this Article shall be a reduced amount determined in accordance with regulations by reference to the percentage specified in Article 11(1)(a) of the 1982 Order (percentage of statutory sick pay recoverable by employers by deduction from contributions).”.

(1)

1989 NI 13