Social Security Pensions Act 1975

30 Contracted-out employment

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the employment of an earner in employed earner's employment is contracted-out employment in relation to him during any period in which he is under pensionable age and—

(a) his service in the employment is for the time being service which qualifies him for the requisite benefits of an occupational pension scheme ; and

(b) the scheme is a contracted-out scheme in relation to that employment; and

(c) there is in force a certificate, issued by the Occupational Pensions Board and known as a " contracting-out certificate", that the employment is contracted-out employment by reference to the scheme.

(2) Where it is a condition of a scheme that the earner shall complete a specified minimum period of service before qualifying for requisite benefits in excess of guaranteed minimum pensions, then in determining whether his service qualifies him as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above at a time when he has not completed that period of service, the assumption is to be made that he will complete it; but in such a case for the employment to be contracted-out by reference to the scheme—

(a) the minimum period must not be more than five years ;

(b) any service during that period must count towards guaranteed minimum pensions ; and

(c) any service in the period must, when the period is completed, count towards all the requisite benefits of the scheme.

(3) Any contracting-out certificate for the time being in force in respect of an employed earner's employment shall be conclusive that the employment is contracted-out employment.

(4) Regulations shall provide for the determination by the Board of any question whether an employment is to be treated as contracted-out employment or as to the persons in relation to whom, or the period for which, an employment is to be so treated.

(5) In section 4 of the [1972 c. 53.] Contracts of Employment Act 1972 (which requires an employer to give his employees written statements of their terms of employment and requires any such statement to include a note specifying certain additional matters) after subsection (2)(c) there shall be inserted the words “and—

(d) stating whether a contracting-out certificate is in force for the employment in respect of which the statement is given,”;

but nothing in this subsection shall be taken as authorising or requiring any tribunal acting under that Act to determine any question whether an employment is, has been or will be contracted-out employment.