Defence Reform Act 2014

46 Payments to employers etc of members of reserve forces

(1) In Part 8 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 (schemes for exemption and financial assistance), after section 84 insert—

“84A Other payments to employers etc of members of reserve forces

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide for the making of payments by the Secretary of State to—

(a) an employer whose employee is undertaking relevant reserve force activities or has undertaken such activities while employed by the employer, and

(b) a person carrying on business in partnership whose partner in the business is undertaking relevant reserve force activities or has undertaken such activities while a partner of the person,

but see subsections (3) to (5).

(2) For the purposes of this section, a person undertakes relevant reserve force activities when the person—

(a) is in permanent service under Part 4 or under a call-out order,

(b) undertakes training of a prescribed description while an ordinary member of a reserve force, or

(c) performs other voluntary duties of a prescribed description while an ordinary member of a reserve force.

(3) The Secretary of State may make regulations under this section only if satisfied that the payments provided for, or such payments taken together with other measures, are likely to encourage persons—

(a) to employ, or continue to employ, members of the reserve forces, or

(b) to carry on business, or continue to carry on business, in partnership with members of the reserve forces.

(4) Regulations under subsection (1)(a) may provide for the making of payments to employers who are self-employed, but not in respect of their own relevant reserve force activities.

(5) Regulations under this section may not provide for the making of payments to be conditional on a financial loss suffered by the employer or the person carrying on business in partnership.

(6) A person making a claim under regulations under this section who is dissatisfied with the determination of the claim may appeal against the determination to a reserve forces appeal tribunal.

(7) In this section—

• “ordinary member”, in relation to a reserve force, means a member who—

  (a)

  is not a special member of that force, and

  (b)

  is not a member of that force for the purpose only of becoming a special member;

• “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under this section.”

(2) Schedule 7 contains supplementary provision.