Social Security Act 1973

General regulations

4 In relation to employments which are or at any time have been recognised pensionable employments, and to the operation of schemes by reference to which such employments are or have been recognised, provision may be made by regulations—

(a) for treating an earner's employment, where it ends before a person succeeds to his employer's business, as having been employment under the employer's successor ;

(b) for disregarding changes in an earner's employment due to the death of an employer or other cause, or any cesser of recognised pensionable employment so due, or for treating employment under one employer as a variation of that under another and treating any recognition certificate issued to, or election made by, the former employer as issued to or made by the latter;

(c) for disregarding temporary interruptions in an earner's employment or recognised pensionable employment, and for treating the employment in either case as continuing during the interruption; and

(d) generally as to the circumstances in which an earner's employment is or is not to be treated as having begun, or as having come to an end ;

and references in this paragraph to an earner's employment beginning or ending shall include references to his employment becoming, or ceasing to be, recognised pensionable employment.

5 Regulations may enable the Board to determine, in prescribed circumstances, that an earner, or any group of earners falling within a particular category or description of recognised pensionable employments, has been in such employment from a date earlier than would otherwise be the case (not being, in the case of an earner within the scope of the determination, a date earlier than that on which his relevant employment began or a recognition certificate was issued in respect of it, whichever is the later).

6 Regulations may make provision for any incidental matters connected with the provisions of Part II of this Act in relation to any employment which is, has been, or may become recognised pensionable employment and in relation to the certification of such an employment under section 52 of this Act, or otherwise connected with the provisions of this Schedule; and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, regulations may relate—

(a) to the determination by the Board of any such questions as are referred to in section 52(7) of this Act,

(b) to the information which may in connection with any matters referred to in sections 51 to 62 or in this Schedule be required to be given by any person.

7 Without prejudice to paragraph 6 above, regulations may enable the Board to cancel or vary a recognition certificate where they have reason to suppose that any employment to which it relates ought not to be treated as recognised pensionable employment in accordance with the certificate and the employer does not show that it ought to be so treated.

8 Regulations may—

(a) regulate the manner in which employers are to make or revoke an election with a view to the issue, variation, cancellation or surrender of a recognition certificate, and require them to give notice for the purpose of informing earners and others of their intention to do so ;

(b) require employers of earners (whether or not for the time being in recognised pensionable employment) to notify earners and others, in the prescribed manner, of the manner in which the minimum benefits of any occupational pension scheme fall to be calculated under the scheme and any regulations applicable thereto ;

(c) empower the Board to defer the issue or variation of a recognition certificate so as to enable the relevant election to be further considered in the fight of any representation made by persons to whom notice of the election is required by regulations to be given, or by organisations representing any such persons ;

(d) contain provisions relating to employments which have ceased to be (as well as to those which are) recognised pensionable employments in relation to any person.