PART IINTRODUCTION

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These regulations may be cited as the Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986 and shall come into operation in the case of regulations 1, 22 and 23 on 15th March 1987, and in the case of the remainder of the regulations on 6th April 1987.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

the 1975 Act” means the Social Security Act 1975;

the 1978 Act” means the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978;

the 1986 Act” means the Social Security Act 1986.

[F1“the Contributions and Benefits Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.]

[F2“statutory maternity leave” means ordinary maternity leave and any additional maternity leave under, respectively, sections 71 and 73 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.]

(3) Unless the context otherwise requires, any references in these regulations to—

(a)a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation bearing that number in these regulations and any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of that regulation bearing that number;

(b)any provision made by or contained in an enactment or instrument shall be construed as a reference to that provision as amended or extended by any enactment or instrument and as including a reference to any provision which it re-enacts or replaces, or which may re-enact or replace it, with or without modifications.