The Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations 2002

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

This instrument contains only regulations made by virtue of sections 2 and 4 of the Employment Act 2002, which come into force on 8th December 2002. The instrument is made before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the coming into force of those provisions. The regulations in it are therefore exempted by section 173(5)(b) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 from the requirement under section 172 of that Act to refer the proposals to make the regulations to the Social Security Advisory Committee and they are made without reference to the Committee.

These Regulations modify Parts 12ZA (statutory paternity pay) and 12ZB (statutory adoption pay) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (“the Act”) in relation to persons abroad, persons who work as mariners and persons who work on the continental shelf.

Regulation 2 limits the application of the Regulations to cases where the person would be treated as an employee under Parts 12ZA or 12ZB of the Act if the employment were in Great Britain.

Regulation 3 provides for a person employed in another State of the European Economic Area but subject to the legislation of the United Kingdom to be treated as an employee for the purposes of statutory paternity pay and statutory adoption pay.

Regulation 4 provides for a person who is absent from Great Britain but in respect of whom an employer has secondary Class 1 national insurance contribution liability to be treated as an employee for the purposes of statutory paternity pay and statutory adoption pay.

Where a person has worked for the same employer both in Great Britain and in another State of the European Economic Area, regulation 5 provides, in specified circumstances, for employment in the member State to be treated as employed earner’s employment for the purposes of statutory paternity pay, and regulation 6 makes similar provision for the purposes of statutory adoption pay.

Regulation 7 relaxes any time limit imposed by Parts 12ZA and 12ZB of the Act and the Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (General) Regulations 2002 in relation to a person who, because he is outside the United Kingdom, cannot comply with it.

Regulation 8 treats certain classes of mariners as employees for the purposes of entitlement to statutory paternity pay and statutory adoption pay and regulation 9 makes corresponding provision for persons working on the continental shelf.