These regulations make provisions about statutory sick pay under Part II of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1982 (“the Order”) as it affects mariners, airmen and persons abroad.

Under Article 28(1) of the Order, a person is not, as a rule, an “employee”, and therefore not qualified to receive statutory sick pay, unless he is employed in Northern Ireland. Regulations 4 to 6 prescribe exceptions to this rule, so that certain persons who are employed in other member States of the European Communities but subject to the legislation of the United Kingdom and certain mariners and airmen are “employees” though employed outside Northern Ireland; and so that certain limited classes of mariners and airmen are not “employees” though employed in Northern Ireland.

Regulation 8 makes provision for a period of entitlement to statutory sick pay to end if the employee goes outside the member States of the European Communities, or not to arise if he is already outside them, and regulations 9 and 10 set out exceptions applying to mariners and airmen.

Some of the requirements of Part II of the Order and regulations made under it impose time limits. Regulation 11 relaxes those requirements in their application to persons who are outside the United Kingdom and for that reason cannot comply with them.