Social Security Act 1973

Modifications for special categories of earners

40 Crown servants, armed forces, etc.

(1) This Act shall apply to persons employed by or under the Crown (subject to any special provision made by or under this section) in like manner as if such persons were employed earners in the employment of a private person.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, any person who is serving as a member of Her Majesty's forces shall, while he is so serving, be treated for the purposes of this Act as an employed earner in respect of his membership of those forces.

(3) The Secretary of State may make regulations modifying this Part of this Act, in such manner as he thinks proper, in its application to persons who are or have been members of Her Majesty's forces; and regulations under this section may in particular provide—

(a) in the case of persons who are employed earners in respect of their membership of Her Majesty's forces, for reducing the rate of the contributions payable in respect of their employment and for determining—

(i) the amounts payable on account of those contributions by the Secretary of State and the time and manner of payment, and

(ii) the deductions (if any) to be made on account of those contributions from the pay of those persons;

(b) for preventing a person who is discharged from Her Majesty's forces at his own request from being thereby disqualified for receiving unemployment benefit on the ground that he has voluntarily left his employment without just cause.

(4) For the purposes of this Act, Her Majesty's forces shall be taken to consist of such establishments and organisations as may be prescribed, being establishments and organisations in which persons serve under the control of the Defence Council.

41 Mariners and airmen.

(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations modifying this Part of this Act, in such manner as he thinks proper, in its application to persons who are or have been employed on board any ship, vessel, hovercraft or aircraft; and such regulations may in particular provide—

(a) for this Part to apply to such persons notwithstanding that it would not otherwise apply;

(b) for excepting such persons from the application of this Part where they neither are domiciled nor have a place of residence in any part of Great Britain ;

(c) for requiring the payment of secondary Class 1 contributions in respect of such persons, whether or not they are (within the meaning of this Part) employed earners ;

(d) for the taking of evidence, for the purposes of any claim to benefit, in a country or territory outside Great Britain, by a British consular official or such other person as may be prescribed;

(e) for enabling persons who are or have been so employed to authorise the payment of the whole or any part of any benefit to which they are or may become entitled to such of their dependants as may be prescribed.

(2) Any secondary Class 1 contribution payable by an employer—

(a) in respect of payments to a person employed on board a ship, vessel or hovercraft, where that person is by virtue of this section excepted from liability to pay a primary Class 1 contribution in respect of the payments; or

(b) by virtue of this section in respect of a person so employed who is not an employed earner for the purposes of this Act,

shall be excluded from the contributions which under section 1(5) of this Act are to be taken into account for the purpose of arriving at the amount of any Treasury supplement and shall be administered and applied in such manner and for such purposes as may be prescribed.

(3) In this section, " hovercraft" has the same meaning as in the [1968 c. 59.] Hovercraft Act 1968.

42 Married women and widows.

(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations modifying this Part of this Act, in such manner as he thinks proper, in its application to women who are or have been married.

(2) Regulations under this section shall provide for enabling a married woman or widow to elect that in any year—

(a) her liability in respect of primary Class 1 contributions shall be a liability to contribute at the reduced, instead of the standard, rate; or

(b) she shall be under no liability for Class 2 contributions,

and to revoke any such election.

(3) Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (2) above shall provide so that—

(a) a woman's election for those purposes is not to be made or revoked otherwise than in respect of a complete year (whether the year in which the election is made, or any subsequent year); and

(b) an election made or revoked for either one of the purposes mentioned in subsection (2) is to be deemed to be made or revoked for the other purpose also; and

(c) while an election has effect, the woman who made it is not entitled to pay any Class 3 contributions.

(4) Regulations may, in relation to women who have been widowed, provide—

(a) for excepting them generally from liability for contributions or for excepting them from liability for contributions of any prescribed class ;

(b) for enabling women who are excepted under paragraph (a) above from liability for contributions of any class to elect to be liable for contributions of that class or not to be so liable, and for enabling them to revoke any such election ; and

(c) for enabling women who are so excepted in respect of primary Class 1 contributions to elect to contribute at the standard, or at the reduced, rate ;

but any provision made by regulations under this subsection shall be subject to whatever provision is made by regulations for the purposes of subsection (3) above.

43 Persons outside Great Britain.

(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations modifying, in such manner as he thinks proper, the provisions of this Part of this Act in their application to persons who are or have been outside Great Britain at any prescribed time or in any prescribed circumstances.

(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for modifying the provisions of this Part of this Act in their application to persons in any prescribed employment (whether under a contract of service or not) in connection with the exploitation of the resources mentioned in section 1(1) of the [1964 c. 29.] Continental Shelf Act 1964 or with the exploration of the sea bed and subsoil in any area designated under section 1(7) of that Act and in particular (but without prejudice to the generality of this subsection) for any prescribed provision of this Part of this Act to apply to such a person notwithstanding that he does not fall within the description of an employed or self-employed earner, or does not fulfil the conditions prescribed under section 1(10) of this Act as to residence or presence in Great Britain.