Forfeiture of pension rights after conviction of employment-related offences
68.—(1) If a member is convicted of a relevant offence, his former employing authority may apply to a Minister of the Crown who may issue a forfeiture certificate.
(2) Where a forfeiture certificate is issued the member’s former employing authority may direct that any of the rights in respect of him under the Benefits Regulations, these Regulations or the former Regulations as respects his previous membership are forfeited.
(3) A relevant offence is an offence, committed in connection with an employment in which the person convicted is a member, and because of which he has left that employment.
(4) A forfeiture certificate is a certificate that the offence—
(a)was gravely injurious to the State; or
(b)is liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public service.
(5) If the former employing authority incurred loss as a direct consequence of the relevant offence, it may only give a direction under paragraph (2) if it is unable to recover its loss under regulation 70 (recovery or retention where former member has misconduct obligation) or 72 (transfer of sums from the fund to compensate for a former member’s misconduct) or otherwise, except after an unreasonable time or at disproportionate cost.
(6) A direction under paragraph (2) may only be given if an application to a Minister of the Crown for a forfeiture certificate has been made by the former employing authority before the expiry of the period of 3 months beginning with the date of the conviction.
(7) Where a former employing authority applies for a forfeiture certificate, it must at the same time send the convicted person and the Committee a copy of the application.