Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992

[F1 171ZL Entitlement U.K.

(1) Where a person who is, or has been, an employee satisfies the conditions in subsection (2) below, he shall be entitled in accordance with the following provisions of this Part to payments to be known as “statutory adoption pay”.

(2) The conditions are—

(a) that he is a person with whom a child is, or is expected to be, placed for adoption under the law of any part of the United Kingdom;

(b) that he has been in employed earner’s employment with an employer for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks ending with the relevant week;

(c) that he has ceased to work for the employer;

(d) that his normal weekly earnings for the period of 8 weeks ending with the relevant week are not less than the lower earnings limit in force under section 5(1)(a) at the end of the relevant week; and

(e) that he has elected to receive statutory adoption pay.

(3) The references in subsection (2)(b) and (d) above to the relevant week are to the week in which the person is notified that he has been matched with the child for the purposes of adoption.

(4) A person may not elect to receive statutory adoption pay if—

(a) he has elected in accordance with section 171ZB above to receive statutory paternity pay, or

[F2 (b) he falls within subsection (4A).]

[F3 (4A) A person falls within this subsection if—

(a) the child is, or is expected to be, placed for adoption with him as a member of a couple;

(b) the other member of the couple is a person to whom the conditions in subsection (2) above apply; and

(c) the other member of the couple has elected to receive statutory adoption pay.

(4B) For the purposes of subsection (4A), a person is a member of a couple if—

(a) in the case of an adoption or expected adoption under the law of England and Wales [F4 or Northern Ireland], he is a member of a couple within the meaning of section 144(4) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002;

F5 (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F6 (c) in the case of an adoption or expected adoption under the law of Scotland he is a member of a relevant couple within the meaning of section 29(3) of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007].]

(5) A person’s entitlement to statutory adoption pay shall not be affected by the placement, or expected placement, for adoption of more than one child as part of the same arrangement.

(6) A person shall be entitled to payments of statutory adoption pay only if—

(a) he gives the person who will be liable to pay it notice of the date from which he expects the liability to pay him statutory adoption pay to begin; and

(b) the notice is given at least 28 days before that date or, if that is not reasonably practicable, as soon as is reasonably practicable.

(7) The notice shall be in writing if the person who is liable to pay the statutory adoption pay so requests.

(8) The Secretary of State may by regulations—

(a) provide that subsection (2)(b), (c) or (d) above shall have effect subject to prescribed modifications in such cases as may be prescribed;

(b) provide that subsection (6) above shall not have effect, or shall have effect subject to prescribed modifications, in such cases as may be prescribed;

(c) impose requirements about evidence of entitlement;

(d) specify in what circumstances employment is to be treated as continuous for the purposes of this section;

(e) provide that a person is to be treated for the purposes of this section as being employed for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks where—

(i) he has been employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks under two or more separate contracts of service; and

(ii) those contracts were not continuous;

(f) provide for amounts earned by a person under separate contracts of service with the same employer to be aggregated for the purposes of this section;

(g) provide that—

(i) the amount of a person’s earnings for any period, or

(ii) the amount of his earnings to be treated as comprised in any payment made to him or for his benefit,

shall be calculated or estimated for the purposes of this section in such manner and on such basis as may be prescribed and that for that purpose payments of a particular class or description made or falling to be made to or by a person shall, to such extent as may be prescribed, be disregarded or, as the case may be, be deducted from the amount of his earnings;

(h) make provision about elections for statutory adoption pay.

[F7 (9) This section has effect in a case involving a child who is, or is expected to be, placed under section 22C of the Children Act 1989 by a local authority in England with a local authority foster parent who has been approved as a prospective adopter with the following modifications—

(a) the references in subsections (2)(a) and (4A)(a) to a child being placed for adoption under the law of any part of the United Kingdom are to be treated as references to a child being placed under section 22C in that manner;

(b) the reference in subsection (3) to the week in which the person is notified that he has been matched with the child for the purposes of adoption is to be treated as a reference to the week in which the person is notified that the child is to be, or is expected to be, placed with him under section 22C;

(c) the references in subsection (4B)(a) to adoption are to be treated as references to placement under section 22C;

(d) the reference in subsection (5) to placement, or expected placement, for adoption is to be treated as a reference to placement, or expected placement, under section 22C.

(10) Where, by virtue of subsection (9), a person becomes entitled to statutory adoption pay in respect of a child who is, or is expected to be, placed under section 22C of the Children Act 1989, the person may not become entitled to payments of statutory adoption pay as a result of the child being, or being expected to be, placed for adoption.]

[F8 (11) This section has effect in a case involving a child who is, or is expected to be, placed under section 81 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 by a local authority in Wales with a local authority foster parent who has been approved as a prospective adopter with the following modifications—

(a) the references in subsections (2)(a) and (4A)(a) to a child being placed for adoption under the law of any part of the United kingdom are to be treated as references to a child being placed under section 81 in that manner;

(b) the reference in subsection (3) to the week in which the person is notified that he has been matched with the child for the purposes of adoption is to be treated as a reference to the week in which the person is notified that the child is to be, or is expected to be placed with him under section 8;

(c) the references in subsection (4B)(a) to adoption are to be treated as references to placement under section 81;

(d) the reference in subsection (5) to placement, or expected placement, for adoption is to be treated as a reference to placement, or expected placement under section 81.

(12) Where, by virtue of subsection (11), a person becomes entitled to statutory adoption pay in respect of a child who is, or is expected to be, placed under section 81 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, the person may not become entitled to payments of statutory adoption pay as a result of the child being, or being expected to be, placed for adoption.]]

Textual Amendments

F1 Pt. 12ZB inserted (8.12.2002) by Employment Act 2002 (c. 22), ss. 4, 55(2); S.I. 2002/2866, art. 2(2), Sch. 1 Pt. 2

F2 S. 171ZL(4)(b) substituted (with effect in accordance with art. 2 of the amending S.I.) by The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Consequential Amendment to Statutory Adoption Pay) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/2012), arts. 1, 3(a)

F3 S. 171ZL(4A)(4B) inserted (with effect in accordance with art. 2 of the amending S.I.) by The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Consequential Amendment to Statutory Adoption Pay) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/2012), arts. 1, 3(b)

F4 Words in s. 171ZL(4B)(a) inserted (13.1.2020) by The Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1514), regs. 1(2), 65(a) (with regs. 6-9)

F5 S. 171ZL(4B)(b) omitted (13.1.2020) by virtue of The Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1514), regs. 1(2), 65(b) (with regs. 6-9)

F6 S. 171ZL(4B)(c) inserted (15.7.2011) by The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 (Consequential Modifications) Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/1740), Sch. 1 para. 4

F7 S. 171ZL(9)(10) inserted (30.6.2014) by Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6), ss. 121(5), 139(6); S.I. 2014/1640, art. 3(1)(e)

F8 S. 171ZL(11)(12) inserted (E.W.) (6.4.2016) by The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/413), regs. 2(1), 135

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 171ZL(6) disapplied (8.12.2002) by The Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (General) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2822), regs. 1, 29(2)