Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981

Pay-related benefit (additional waiting days for certain benefits).

6.—(1) Section 72 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the deletion of all the words from “and which is not earlier” to the end of subsection (1) and the substitution therefor of the following:

“and which is not earlier than the 13th day of incapacity for work in a period of incapacity for work (within the meaning of section 18 (4)) or which is not earlier than the 13th day of unemployment, as the case may be, in the period of interruption of employment: provided that, where a period of incapacity for work is not separated by more than 3 days from a preceding day of unemployment in respect of which pay-related benefit was payable, that benefit shall be payable from the 13th day of incapacity for work in the period of interruption of employment or from the first day of that period of incapacity for work, whichever is the later.”,

and that subsection, as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

(2) Section 72 of the Principal Act is hereby further amended by the substitution for subsection (2) of the following subsection:

“(2) For the purposes of this section, any day in respect of which a person is entitled to maternity allowance shall be treated as a day of incapacity for work, and a period of incapacity for work and a subsequent period in respect of which maternity allowance is payable which form part of the same period of interruption of employment shall be treated as one period of incapacity for work.”.

(3) Section 74 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (2) of the following subsection:

“(2) In calculating for the purposes of section 73 and this section whether, in a period of interruption of employment, a person has had a specified number of days of incapacity for work or a specified number of days of unemployment, account shall be taken of only—

(a) the first 12 days of incapacity for work in that period and any day of incapacity for work in that period in respect of which that person was entitled to pay-related benefit or would have been so entitled but for any condition prescribed for the purpose of section 73,

(b) the first 12 days of unemployment in that period and any day of unemployment in that period in respect of which that person was entitled to pay-related benefit or would have been so entitled but for any condition prescribed for the purpose of section 73.”.

(4) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to periods of incapacity for work commencing before the 6th day of April, 1981.

TABLE

(1) Subject to this Chapter, a person who had reckonable earnings in the relevant income tax year shall be entitled to pay-related benefit in respect of any day which—

(a) is a day of incapacity for work which forms part of a period of interruption of employment and in respect of which the person is entitled to disability benefit or maternity allowance or in respect of which the person would be entitled to benefit of either of those descriptions but for the fact that injury benefit is payable to the person under Chapter 5 in respect of that day, or

(b) is a day of unemployment which forms part of a period of interruption of employment and in respect of which the person is entitled to unemployment benefit,

and which is not earlier than the 13th day of incapacity for work in a period of incapacity for work (within the meaning of section 18 (4)) or which is not earlier than the 13th day of unemployment, as the case may be, in the period of interruption of employment: provided that, where a period of incapacity for work is not separated by more than 3 days from a preceding day of unemployment in respect of which pay-related benefit was payable, that benefit shall be payable from the 13th day of incapacity for work in the period of interruption of employment or from the first day of that period of incapacity for work, whichever is the later.