The Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Suspension of Waiting Days and General Amendment) (No.2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020

Made: 2nd July 2020

Laid before Parliament: 3rd July 2020

Coming into operation-: 6th July 2020

Those powers are exercisable by the Secretary of State by virtue of Article 4(1) of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015[^f00003]

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Suspension of Waiting Days and General Amendment) (No.2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 and come into operation on 6th July 2020.

Amendment of the Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1982

2

• (1) The Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1982[^f00004] are amended as follows.

• (2) In regulation 2(1) (persons deemed incapable of work)—

• (a) at the end of sub-paragraph (b) omit “or”;

• (b) in sub-paragraph (c)—

• (i) in head (i), for “the Schedule” substitute “Schedule 1”;

• (ii) at the end insert “; or”;

• (c) after sub-paragraph (c) insert—

(d) he is— (i) shielding himself in such a manner as to prevent infection or contamination with coronavirus in accordance with Schedule 2; and (ii) by reason of that shielding is unable to work.

• (3) In regulation 2(3), after “paragraph (1)(c)” insert “and (d) and Schedules 1 and 2”.

• (4) The Schedule (isolation due to coronavirus) is renumbered Schedule 1.

• (5) The renumbered Schedule 1 is amended in accordance with paragraphs (6) to (9).

• (6) At the end of paragraphs 2 and 4 insert “or, if earlier, until the end of the isolation period”.

• (7) Paragraph 3 is renumbered paragraph 3(1) and—

• (a) in the renumbered paragraph 3(1)—

• (i) after “someone” insert “, or is in an extended household with someone,”;

• (ii) at the end insert “or, if earlier, until the end of the isolation period”;

• (b) after the renumbered paragraph 3(1) insert—

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1), the person (P) is in an extended household with the person isolating himself in accordance with paragraph 2 (S) where— (a) P, and where applicable, the members of P’s household; and (b) S and where applicable, the members of S’s household, have formed an extended household.

• (8) Omit paragraph 5A.

• (9) In paragraph 6—

• (a) insert in the appropriate places—

• “extended household” means two households where the adults in those households have agreed to be part of a single household in accordance with public health guidance;

• “isolation period” means the period ending on the day on which a relevant notification is received advising that the person with the symptoms of coronavirus is not in fact infected or contaminated with coronavirus;

• (b) for ““public heath guidance”” substitute ““public health guidance””.

• (10) After the renumbered Schedule 1 the Schedule to these Regulations is inserted as Schedule 2.

Amendment of the Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Suspension of Waiting Days and General Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020

3

In regulation 2 of the Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Suspension of Waiting Days and General Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020[^f00005] (suspension of waiting days), in both paragraph (3)(b)(ii) and (4), after “regulation 2(1)(c)” insert “or (d)”.

SCHEDULE — INSERTION OF SCHEDULE 2

Signed

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Justin Tomlinson — Minister of State — Department for Work and Pensions — 2nd July 2020

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Regulation 2 of these Regulations amends the Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1982 (S.R. 1982 No. 283).

The amendments in paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (8) and (10) and the Schedule ensure that persons who are shielding themselves from other people in such a manner as to prevent infection or contamination with coronavirus are to be deemed to be incapable of work for the purpose of entitlement to statutory sick pay.

The amendments in paragraphs (6), (7)(a)(ii) and (9)(a) ensure that persons deemed to be incapable of work because they or another person have the symptoms of coronavirus will remain entitled to statutory sick pay until the person with those symptoms receives notification that they have tested negative for coronavirus.

The amendments in paragraph (7)(a)(i) and (b) ensure that a person will be entitled to statutory sick pay if a member of their extended household has the symptoms of coronavirus.

The amendment in paragraph (9)(b) corrects a typographical error.

Regulation 3 of these Regulations amends the Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Suspension of Waiting Days and General Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020 No.54) to ensure that those deemed incapable of work by virtue of the amendments made by regulation 2 of these Regulations do not have to serve waiting days for entitlement for statutory sick pay.

No regulatory impact assessment has been produced for these Regulations in view of the urgency required to provide additional financial support to those unable to work as a result of coronavirus.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1992 c. 7. Section 147(4) was amended by S.R.1994 No.1898. Section 171(1) was amended by paragraph 5 of Schedule 4 to the Tax Credits Act 2002 (c. 21). Section 147(4A) and section 171(5A) were inserted by section 44 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 (c.7).. See section 159(1) for the definition of “prescribed”.

[^f00002]: 2020 c.7.

[^f00003]: Article 4(1) was amended by Article 4(2)(a) of the Welfare Reform and Work (Northern Ireland) Order 2016 (S.I.2016/999 (N.I. 1)).

[^f00004]: S.R. 1982 No. 263; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 2020 Nos. 32, 54, 66 and 89.

[^f00005]: S.R. 2020 No. 54.