Social Security Act 1986

Section 49.

SCHEDULE 4 Statutory Maternity Pay etc.

PART I Provisions Supplementary to Part V

Recovery of amounts paid by way, of statutory maternity pay

1 Regulations shall make provision—

(a) entitling, except in prescribed circumstances, any person who has made a payment of statutory maternity pay to recover the amount so paid by making one or more deductions from his contributions payments ; and

(b) for the payment, in prescribed circumstances, by the Secretary of State or by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue on behalf of the Secretary of State, of sums to persons who are unable so to recover the whole, or any part, of any payments of statutory maternity pay which they have made ;

(c) giving any person who has made a payment of statutory maternity pay a right, except in prescribed circumstances, to an amount, determined in such manner as may be prescribed—

(i) by reference to secondary Class 1 contributions paid in respect of statutory maternity pay ; or

(ii) by reference to secondary Class 1 contributions paid in respect of statutory sick pay ; or

(iii) by reference to the aggregate of secondary Class 1 contributions paid in respect of statutory maternity pay and secondary Class 1 contributions paid in respect of statutory sick pay ;

(d) providing for the recovery, in prescribed circumstances, of the whole or any part of any such amount from contributions payments ;

(e) for the payment, in prescribed circumstances, by the Secretary of State or by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue on behalf of the Secretary of State, of the whole or any part of any such amount.

2 Regulations under paragraph 1 above may, in particular provide for any deduction made in accordance with the regulations to be disregarded for prescribed purposes.

3 The power to make regulations conferred by paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 to the [1975 c. 14.] Social Security Act 1975 (power to combine collection of contributions with collection of income tax) shall include power to make such provision as the Secretary of State considers expedient in consequence of any provision made by or under this Schedule.

4 Provision made in regulations under paragraph 5 of Schedule 1, by virtue of paragraph 3 above, may in particular require the inclusion—

(a) in returns, certificates and other documents ; or

(b) in any other form of record ;

which the regulations require to be kept or produced or to which those regulations otherwise apply, of such particulars relating to statutory maternity pay or deductions or payments made by virtue of paragraph 1 above as may be prescribed by those regulations.

5 Where, in accordance with any provision of regulations made under this Schedule, an amount has been deducted from an employer's contributions payments, the amount so deducted shall (except in such cases as may be prescribed) be treated for the purposes of any provision made by or under any enactment in relation to primary or secondary Class 1 contributions as having been—

(a) paid (on such date as may be determined in accordance with the regulations); and

(b) received by the Secretary of State,

towards discharging the employer's liability in respect of such contributions.

Provision of information by women and their employers and / or former employers

6 A woman shall provide the person who is liable to pay her statutory maternity pay—

(a) with evidence as to her pregnancy and the expected date of confinement in such form and at such time as may be prescribed ; and

(b) where she commences work after her confinement but within the maternity pay period, with such additional information as may be prescribed.

7 Where a woman asks an employer or former employer of hers to provide her with a written statement, in respect of a period before the request is made, of one or more of the following—

(a) the weeks within that period which he regards as weeks in respect of which he is liable to pay statutory maternity pay to the woman ;

(b) the reasons why he does not so regard the other weeks in that period ; and

(c) his opinion as to the amount of statutory maternity pay to which the woman is entitled in respect of each of the weeks in respect of which he regards himself as liable to make a payment,

the employer or former employer shall, to the extent to which the request was reasonable, comply with it within a reasonable time.

8 Regulations—

(a) may require employers to maintain such records in connection with statutory maternity pay as may be prescribed ;

(b) may provide for—

(i) any woman claiming to be entitled to statutory maternity pay; or

(ii) any other person who is a party to proceedings arising under this Act relating to statutory maternity pay,

to furnish to the Secretary of State, within a prescribed period, any information required for the determination of any question arising in connection therewith ; and

(c) may require persons who have made payments of statutory maternity pay to furnish to the Secretary of State such documents and information, at such time, as may be prescribed.

Provision of information by Secretary of State

9 Where the Secretary of State considers that it is reasonable for information held by him to be disclosed to a person liable to make payments of statutory maternity pay for the purpose of enabling that person to determine—

(a) whether a maternity pay period exists in relation to a woman who is or has been an employee of his; and

(b) if it does, the date of its commencement and the weeks in it in respect of which he may be liable to pay statutory maternity pay,

he may disclose the information to that person.

Statutory maternity pay to count as remuneration for purposes of Social Security Act 1975

10 For the purposes of section 3 of the [1975 c. 14.] Social Security Act 1975 (meaning of " earnings"), any sums paid to, or for the benefit of, a woman in satisfaction (whether in whole or in part) of any entitlement of hers to statutory maternity pay shall be treated as remuneration derived from employed earner's employment.

Relationship with benefits and other payments etc.

11 Any day which falls within the maternity pay period shall not be treated for the purposes of the Social Security Act 1975 or the [1975 c. 60.] Social Security Pensions Act 1975 as a day of unemployment or of incapacity for work for the purpose of determining whether it forms part of a period of interruption of employment.

12 (1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) below, any entitlement to statutory maternity pay shall not affect any right of a woman in relation to remuneration under any contract of service(" contractual remuneration ").

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3) below—

(a) any contractual remuneration paid to a woman by an employer of hers in respect of a week in the maternity pay period shall go towards discharging any liability of that employer to' pay statutory maternity pay to her in respect of that week ; and

(b) any statutory maternity pay paid by an employer to a woman who is an employee of his in respect of a week in the maternity pay period shall go towards discharging any liability of that employer to pay contractual remuneration to her in respect of that week.

(3) Regulations may make provision as to payments which are, and those which are not, to be treated as contractual remuneration for the purposes of sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) above.

PART II Amendments of Social Security Act 1975

13 For sections 22 and 23 there shall be substituted—

“22 State maternity allowance.

(1) A woman shall be entitled to a maternity allowance at the weekly rate specified in relation thereto in Schedule 4, Part I, paragraph 4, if—

(a) she satisfies the condition specified in section 46(2)(c) of the Social Security Act 1986; and

(b) she has been engaged in employment as an employed or self-employed earner for at least 26 weeks in the 52 weeks immediately preceding the 14th week before the expected week of confinement; and

(c) she satisfies the contribution condition for a maternity allowance specified in Schedule 3, Part I, paragraph 3 ; and

(d) she is not entitled to statutory maternity pay for the same week in respect of the same pregnancy.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a maternity allowance shall be payable for the period ("the maternity allowance period") which, if she were entitled to statutory maternity pay, would be the maternity 'pay period under section 47 of the Social Security Act 1986.

(3) Regulations may provide—

(a) for disqualifying a woman for receiving a maternity allowance if—

(i) during the maternity allowance period she does any work in employment as an employed or self-employed earner or fails without good cause to observe any prescribed rules of behaviour ; or

(ii) at any time before she is confined she fails without good cause to attend for, or submit herself to, any medical examination required in accordance with the regulations ;

(b) that this section and Schedule 3, Part I, paragraph 3 shall have effect subject to prescribed modifications in relation to cases in which a woman has been confined and—

(i) has not made a claim for a maternity allowance in expectation of that confinement (other than a claim which has been disallowed) ; or

(ii) has made a claim for maternity allowance in expectation of that confinement (other than a claim which has been disallowed), but she was confined more than 11 weeks before the expected week of confinement.

(4) Any day which falls within the maternity allowance period shall be treated for the purposes of this Part of this Act as a day of incapacity for work.

(5) Where for any purpose of this Part of this Act or of regulations it is necessary to calculate the daily rate of a maternity allowance—

(a) Sunday or such other day in each week as may be prescribed shall be disregarded ; and

(b) the amount payable by way of that allowance for any other day shall be taken as £th of the weekly rate of the allowance.

(6) In this section " confinement" and " confined " are to be construed in accordance with section 50 of the Social Security Act 1986.

(7) The fact that the mother of a child is being paid maternity allowance shall not be taken into consideration by any court in deciding whether to order payment of expenses incidental to the birth of the child.”.

14 The following paragraph shall be substituted for paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 3—

“3 The contribution condition for a maternity allowance is—

(a) that the claimant must in respect of at least 26 weeks in the 52 weeks immediately preceding the 14th week before the expected week of confinement have actually paid contributions of a relevant class ; and

(b) in the case of Class 1 contributions, that they were not secondary contributions and were not paid at the reduced rate.”.

PART III Abolition of Maternity Pay and Winding-up of Maternity Pay Fund

15 The provisions of Part III of the [1978 c. 44.] Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 shall cease to have effect so far as they relate to maternity pay.

16 A woman who is entitled to maternity pay on the corning into force of paragraph 15 above shall continue to be so entitled notwithstanding that paragraph; but a woman who continues to be entitled to maternity pay by virtue of this paragraph shall not be entitled to statutory maternity pay in respect of any week as respects which she is entitled to maternity pay.

17 (1) The assets and liabilities of the Maternity Pay Fund (including, in particular, liabilities of the Secretary of State in respect of sums advanced under section 38 of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 or claims under section 39 or 40 of that Act) immediately before the relevant date shall become assets and liabilities of the National Insurance Fund ; and on that date the Maternity Pay Fund shall cease to exist.

(2) Not later than such date as the Treasury may direct the Secretary of State shall prepare an account in such form as the Treasury may direct showing the state of the Maternity Pay Fund on the relevant date.

(3) The Secretary of State shall send to the Comptroller and Auditor General a copy of the account prepared under sub-paragraph (2) above; and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine, certify and report on the account and lay copies of it and of his report before each House of Parliament.

(4) In this paragraph " the relevant date " means such date in the period of 12 months ending on 5th April 1988 as the Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, determine.