5. After section 25 of the Contributions and Benefits Act (unemployment benefit) insert—
25A.—(1) For the purposes of any provisions of this for Act relating to unemployment benefit—
(a)subject to the provisions of this Act, a day shall not be treated in relation to any person as a day of unemployment unless on that day—
(i)he is capable of work; and
(ii)he is, or is deemed in accordance with regulations to be, available to be employed in employed earner’s employment; and that day falls in a week in which he is, or is deemed in accordance with regulations to be, actively seeking such employment;
(b)where a person is an employed earner and his employment as such has not been terminated, then in any week a day on which in the normal course that person would not work in that employment or in any other employed earner’s employment shall not be treated as a day of unemployment unless each other day in that week (other than the day referred to in paragraph (e) below) on which in the normal course he would so work is a day of interruption of employment;
(c)“day of interruption of employment” means a day which is a day of unemployment or of incapacity for work;
(d)the following periods, namely—
(i)any 2 days of unemployment, whether consecutive or not, within a period of 6 consecutive days;
(ii)any 4 or more consecutive days of incapacity for work,
shall be treated as a period of interruption of employment, and any 2 such periods not separated by a period of more than 8 weeks (“week” for this purpose meaning any period of 7 days) shall be treated as one period of interruption of employment;
(e)Sunday or such other day in each week as may be prescribed shall not be treated as a day of unemployment and shall be disregarded in computing any period of consecutive days.
(2) For the purposes of any provision of this Act relating to unemployment benefit, references to a day or period of incapacity for work have the same meaning as they have for the purposes of incapacity benefit.
(3) Regulations may—
(a)make provision (subject to subsections (1) and (2) above) as to the days which are or are not to be treated for the purposes of unemployment benefit as days of unemployment;
(b)make provision with respect to—
(i)steps which a person is required to take in any week if he is to be regarded as actively seeking employed earner’s employment in that week;
(ii)the meaning of “week” in subsection (1)(a) above or in any other provision relating to a person’s actively seeking employed earner’s employment;
(c)prescribe respective circumstances in which, for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) above—
(i)employment which has not been terminated may be treated as if it had been terminated; or
(ii)a day which falls in a period when an employed earner’s employment is suspended but does not fall to be so treated and which, apart from the regulations, would not fall to be treated as a day of interruption of employment may be treated as such a day.
(4) Where it has been determined that a person is to be deemed in accordance with regulations to be available for employment in employed earner’s employment in respect of any day, the question of his actual availability for such employment in respect of that day may be subsequently determined on a review of the determination as to his deemed availability.
(5) Where it has been determined that a person is to be deemed in accordance with regulations to be actively seeking employed earner’s employment in any week, the question of his actually doing so in that week may be subsequently determined on a review of the determination as to his deemed doing so.
(6) If regulations under paragraph (a) of subsection (3) above provide that for the purposes of unemployment benefit days falling in a post-employment period are not to be treated in relation to a person as days of unemployment, then, for the purpose of determining that period, the regulations may, in particular, make provision—
(a)for calculating or estimating the amount or value of any payment made, or goods or services provided, to or for that person by his employer;
(b)for calculating or estimating that person’s level of earnings in the employment in question during any period or for treating him as having such a level of earnings as may be prescribed; and
(c)for calculating or estimating the amount or value of any other sum which falls to be taken into account under the regulations.
In this subsection “post-employment period” means a period following the termination of a person’s employment and falling to be determined in accordance with the regulations by reference to the amount or value of payments made, or goods or services provided, to or for the person by his employer at the time of, or within a prescribed period before or after, the termination of the employment.
25B.—(1) Subsections (1) and (3) of section 25A above shall, on and after such day as the Department may by order appoint, have effect—
(a)with the substitution for subsection (1)(b) of the following paragraph—
“(b)where a person is an employed earner and his employment as such has not been terminated but has been suspended by the employer, a day shall not be treated in relation to that person as a day of unemployment unless it is the 7th or a later day in a continuous period of days on which that suspension has lasted, there being disregarded for the purposes of determining the first 6 days of the period (but for no other purpose)—
(i)Sunday or such other day in each week as may have been prescribed under paragraph (e) of this subsection;
(ii)any day of recognised or customary holiday in connection with the suspended employment;
(iii)such other day or days as may be prescribed;”; and
(b)with the substitution for subsection (3)(c) of the following paragraph—
“(c)prescribe respective circumstances in which for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) above an employed earner’s employment may be treated—
(i)as having been or, as the case may be, as not having been terminated; or
(ii)as having been or, as the case may be, as not having been suspended.”.
(2) Regulations may provide—
(a)that paragraph (d) of section 25A(1) above shall have effect as if for the reference to 8 weeks there were substituted a reference to a larger number of weeks specified in the regulations; and
(b)that sub-paragraph (ii) of that paragraph shall have effect as if the reference there to 4 consecutive days were to such lesser number of days, whether consecutive or not, within such period of consecutive days, as may be specified in the regulations.
(3) Regulations under subsection (2)(b) above may be made to have effect from such date, not earlier than 14th September 1980, as may be specified in the regulations.”.