The Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (Parental Orders and Prospective Adopters) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Part 2 of these Regulations amends the Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland (S.R. 2002 No.379) (“the Pay Regulations”) to make provision for a new right to statutory adoption pay for people who are fostering a child with a view to adopting that child, provided that specified conditions are met. The amendments made also provide new rights to statutory paternity pay for the spouses, civil partners and partners of these prospective adopters.

Part 3 of these Regulations make provision for an entitlement to statutory adoption pay and statutory paternity pay (adoption) in respect of cases which involve a person who has applied with another person for a parental order under section 54 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. Under that section a court may make an order providing for a child of a surrogate mother to be treated as the child of the applicants if certain conditions are satisfied.

Part 3 should be read in conjunction with the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (Application of Parts 12ZA, 12ZB and 12ZC to Parental Order Cases) Regulations 2015(S.R. 2015 No. 90). This Part should also be read in conjunction with the Pay Regulations which this Part applies with modifications.

Part 4 amends the Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (Administration) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 (S.R. 2002 No.378) (“the Administration Regulations”) in order to cater for the situation where statutory paternity pay or statutory adoption pay is paid to approved foster parents who are prospective adopters.

Part 5 modifies the Administration Regulations in a case where statutory paternity pay or statutory adoption pay is paid to a person who has applied with another person for a parental order.

An impact assessment has not been prepared for these Regulations. These Regulations are part of a package of legislative measures and the relevant impacts were assessed within the document ‘Sharing parental rights, extending flexibility at work – public consultation’, published in May 2013 (www.delni.gov.uk/index/consultation-zone/archived-consultations/archived-consultations-2013/working-parents-rights.htm), and supplemented by a further publication in April 2014 (www.delni.gov.uk/index/publications/equality-good-relations/shared-parental-leave-and-pay.htm).