These Regulations, which come into operation on 6th April 2006, amend the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 (“the Principal Regulations”).

Regulation 4 provides that the meanings given to Form P45 and Form P46 in the Income Tax (Pay as You Earn) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2682) (“the PAYE Regulations”) are included in the definitions.

Regulation 5 inserts a new regulation 28A into the principal Regulations. Those borrowers who are required to complete a Form P46 by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs must indicate in the form whether they have a student loan which they have to repay. Upon receipt of such a notification from a borrower, the employer is required to start deducting the appropriate student loan repayments from the employee’s earnings (regulation 5). Regulation 5 also amends regulation 35 of the principal Regulations so that it refers to a Form P45.

Regulation 7 amends regulation 50 of the principal Regulations so that where an employee has given notice of their loan to their employer in a Form P46, at the cessation of employment the employer will state in the Form P45 that the employee is a borrower. Regulation 50 now also refers to a Form P45.