These Regulations, made under a provision inserted into the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (“the 1992 Act”) by Article 5 of the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/2836 (N.I. 2)), allow certain Health and Social Care employees with two or more contracts of employment to elect, for the purposes of the additional statutory paternity pay provisions of Part 12ZA of the 1992 Act, to treat those contracts as one contract.

Regulation 2 provides for employees whose contract of employment has been divided into two or more contracts to elect to have those contracts treated as one contract for the purposes of entitlement to additional statutory paternity pay.

Regulation 3 provides for the manner in which, and the time within which, such an election is to be made.

Regulation 4 makes provision for the information that an employee making such an election is to provide to his or her employers.

Regulation 5 provides for one of a person’s employers under the two or more contracts to be regarded for the purposes of additional statutory paternity pay as his or her employer under the one contract.

Regulation 6 provides for the time within which an election is to have effect.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as a negligible impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.