National Health Insurance and Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1936

Recovery from employer of amount of contributory pension lost owing to his default.

18.—(1) Where—

(a) either—

(i) an employer has failed or neglected to pay any contributions, in respect of any period before the 6th day of January, 1936, which, under the National Health Insurance Acts, he was liable to pay in respect of a deceased person who was an employed contributor, or any contributions which, under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1935 (No. 29 of 1935) he was liable to pay in respect of such deceased person, or both such contributions, or

(ii) any employer has failed or neglected to pay any contributions which, under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1935 , he was liable to pay in respect of a deceased person who was employed in an excepted employment to which the said Act applies, and

(b) by reason solely of such failure or neglect the statutory conditions under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1935 , are not complied with at the date of the death of such person (hereinafter in this section referred to as the employee), and

(c) the employee leaves one or more dependants,

the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(I) there shall be due and payable by the employer his executors and administrators to the dependant or, if the employee leaves more than one dependant, each dependant of the employee, at the expiration of each week, which falls within the period commencing on the date of the death of the employee and ending on, in case the twenty-eighth day after the date on which all such contributions have been paid or recovered is a Thursday, the said twenty-eighth day or, in any other case, the Thursday next following the said twenty-eighth day, a sum equal to the amount (if any) which would, if there had been no such failure or neglect and if an application for a contributory pension had been made by such dependant within one month after the death of the employee, have been payable to such dependant in respect of such week as a contributory pension, less in case a non-contributory pension is payable to such dependant in respect of such week, a sum equal to the amount of such non-contributory pension, and

(II) any sum or sums which have become due and payable to such dependant under the immediately preceding clause may be recovered from the employer his executors and administrators by such dependant or by the Minister in the name and on behalf of such dependant, as a simple contract debt in a court of competent jurisdiction, and

(III) all moneys recovered by the Minister under this sub-section shall be disposed of by the Minister in like manner as if they were a contributory pension payable to such dependant.

(2) In this section—

the expressions “contributory pension” and “non-contributory pension” have the same meanings as in Part IV of the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1935 ;

the word “week” means a period of seven days commencing on a Friday.

(3) Each of the following shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to be a dependant of a deceased person, that is to say:—

(a) the widow of such person;

(b) every orphan child of such person.