Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend provisions in three statutory instruments relating to statutory paternity pay and statutory adoption pay.

Regulation 2 amends regulation 11 of the Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 (“the General Regulations”), which concerns certain of the conditions of entitlement to statutory paternity pay (adoption). One of the conditions is that a person is married to or the partner of a child’s adopter. The amendment remedies an omission from the definition of “partner”, listing relatives of the adopter who are not to be regarded as his or her partner.

Regulation 3 amends provisions in the Schedules to the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (Application of Parts XIIZA and XIIZB to Adoptions from Overseas) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (“the Modification Regulations”). The provisions in question modify the conditions of entitlement to statutory paternity pay (adoption) and statutory adoption pay contained in sections 167ZB and 167ZL of the 1992 Act, to take account of differences between the procedures for domestic adoptions and those for adoptions from overseas. The condition, in subsection (2)(b) of both sections, requiring 26 weeks' continuous employment ending with the week in which the adopter is notified of being matched with a child for the purposes of adoption is modified – by a change in the definition of “the relevant week” – to refer to 26 weeks' continuous employment ending with the week in which the adopter is sent official notification that he or she has been approved as a suitable adoptive parent. However, by virtue of an exception inserted as subsection (3A) of sections 167ZB and 167ZL, a person is enabled to qualify by virtue of employment partly before and partly after official notification is sent. The amendments in these Regulations remove both the requirement that a person’s 26 weeks' employment must be prior to the week of notification and the exception to it. In consequence a person is enabled to satisfy the qualifying employment condition even where he or she was in a different employment or unemployed at the time at which official notification was received.

The amendments in regulation 3 also modify the definition of “the relevant week” for the purpose of the condition that a person’s normal weekly earnings exceed the lower earnings limit for national insurance during the 8 weeks ending with the relevant week. The relevant week becomes the later of the week in which official notification is sent and the week in which the person completes the qualifying employment condition.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 3(4) of the Statutory Paternity Pay (Adoption) and Statutory Adoption Pay (Adoption from Overseas) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (“the Overseas Adoptions Regulations”), which modifies regulation 40 of the General Regulations in relation to adoptions from overseas. Regulation 40 provides for the calculation of a person’s normal weekly earnings by reference to a period linked to an “appropriate date”. In relation to statutory paternity pay (adoption) and statutory adoption pay, the appropriate date is defined as meaning the first day of the week after the week in which the adopter is notified of being matched with a child for the purpose of adoption. Regulation 3(4) of the Overseas Adoptions Regulations modifies the definition to refer to the week in which the adopter receives official notification. The amendment in these Regulations corresponds to that made to the definition of the relevant week. The appropriate date becomes the first day of the week after the official notification week or the week in which the qualifying employment requirement is satisfied, whichever is the later.