Social Security Pensions Act 1975

31 Contracting-out certificates

(1) Regulations shall provide for the issue by the Occupational Pensions Board to employers of contracting-out certificates specifying—

(a) the employments which are to be treated, either generally or in relation to any specified description of earners, as contracted-out employments; and

(b) the occupational pension schemes by reference to which those employments are to be so treated.

(2) Regulations shall also provide for the cancellation, variation or surrender of any contracting-out certificate, or the issue of an amended certificate, on any change of circumstances affecting the treatment of an employment as contracted-out employment.

(3) Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, an employment otherwise satisfying the conditions for inclusion in a contracting-out certificate shall be so included if and so long as the employer so elects and not otherwise; and subject to subsection (4) below an election may be so made, and an employment so included, either generally or in relation only to a particular description of earners.

(4) Except in such cases as may be prescribed, an employer shall not, in making or abstaining from making any election under this section, discriminate between different earners on any grounds other than the nature of their employment; and if the Occupational Pensions Board consider that an employer is contravening this subsection in relation to any scheme they may refuse to give effect to any election made by him in relation to that scheme or cancel any contracting-out certificate held by him in respect of that scheme.

(5) Regulations may make provision—

(a) for regulating the manner in which an employer is to make an election with a view to the issue, variation or surrender of a contracting-out certificate;

(b) for requiring an employer to give a notice of his intentions in respect of making or abstaining from making any such election in relation to any existing or proposed scheme—

(i) to employees in any employment to which the scheme applies or to which it is proposed that it should apply;

(ii) to any independent trade union recognised to any extent for the purpose of collective bargaining in relation to those employees ;

(iii) to the trustees and managers of the scheme and such other persons as may be prescribed ;

(c) for requiring an employer, in connection with any such notice, to furnish such information as may be prescribed and to undertake such consultations as may be prescribed with any such trade union as is mentioned in paragraph (b)(ii) above;

(d) for empowering the Occupational Pensions Board to refuse to give effect to an election made by an employer unless they are satisfied that he has complied with the requirements of the regulations;

(e) for referring to an industrial tribunal any question whether an organisation is such a trade union as is mentioned in paragraph (b)(ii) above or whether the requirements of the regulations as to consultation have been complied with.

(6) Regulations may enable the Occupational Pensions Board to cancel or vary a contracting-out certificate where they have reason to suppose that any employment to which it relates ought not to be treated as contracted-out employment in accordance with the certificate and the employer does not show that it ought to be so treated.

(7) Except in prescribed circumstances, no contracting-out certificate and no cancellation, variation or surrender of such a certificate shall have effect from a date earlier than that on which the certificate is issued or the cancellation, variation or surrender is made.

(8) In this section " independent trade union " has the same meaning as in the [1974 c. 52.] Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 and " industrial tribunal" means a tribunal established under section 12 of the [1964 c. 16.] Industrial Training Act 1964.