The National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 2015

Interpretation E+W

150.—(1) This regulation applies for the purposes of this Part.

(2) An independent provider is a person that employs an individual under a contract of employment and—

(a) is not otherwise an employing authority in respect of the individual;

(b) is a party to a qualifying contract;

(c) has been granted employing authority status for the purposes of this scheme.

[F1 (3) A qualifying contract is a contract between a relevant commissioning party and an independent provider the primary purpose of which is the provision of clinical health care services for the NHS and which is—

(a) an NHS standard contract;

(b) an APMS contract;

(c) a contract entered into by a local authority pursuant to its functions under the 2006 Act relating to the improvement and protection of public health and which the Secretary of State agrees to treat as a qualifying contract for these purposes; or

(d) an NHS standard sub-contract];

[F2 (e) a primary care network standard sub-contract].

(4) The wholly or mainly condition requires an employee performing services pursuant to a qualifying contract to do so for more than 50% of the employee's time in the employment.

(5) In determining whether the wholly or mainly condition is met regard must be had to—

(a) each scheme year; or

(b) if the service starts or finishes during a scheme year, so much of the year in which the services are performed.

(6) The 75% threshold is 75% of the total gross amounts payable in a scheme year to an independent provider by the commissioning party in respect of a qualifying contract between them.

(7) A commissioning party is a person who commissions services under a qualifying contract.

(8) In this Part—

• “closed approval” must be construed in accordance with regulation 151(4);

• “IP guarantee” must be construed in accordance with regulation 154;

• F3 ...

• “open approval” must be construed in accordance with regulation 151(5);

• “required level of cover” means a sum equal to 110% of 3/12ths of a reasonable estimate of the independent provider's total annual contribution liability arising under regulations 30, 33 to 35, 48 and 57 in respect of the qualifying contract in respect of which it was granted employing authority status.

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 150(3) substituted (1.4.2017) by The National Health Service Pension Scheme and Additional Voluntary Contributions (Amendment) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/275), regs. 2(c), 42(2)

F2 Reg. 150(3)(e) inserted (1.4.2023) by The National Health Service Pension Schemes (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/301), regs. 1(2), 15

F3 Words in reg. 150(8) omitted (1.4.2016) by virtue of The National Health Service Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/245), regs. 1(2), 79 (with reg. 105)