Social Welfare Act, 1990

Exemption of employed contributors from payment of contributions.

9.—Section 10 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (8) (inserted by section 14 of the Social Welfare Act, 1983 ) of the following subsection:

“(9) (a) Where but for this subsection, an employment contribution would be payable by and in respect of an employed contributor at the rates specified in subsection (1) (b) increased by the amount specified in section 65 (2) (b), the employed contributor shall, subject to regulations, be exempted from the employment contribution payable under subsection (1) (b) (i) where his weekly reckonable earnings are below a prescribed amount.

(b) Regulations under paragraph (a) may in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing specify—

(i) the manner in which the amounts of weekly reckonable earnings are to be calculated for the purposes of that paragraph,

(ii) the manner in which the provisions of that paragraph are to be applied in the case of an employed contributor who is employed by two or more employers concurrently, and

(iii) the manner in which the provisions of that paragraph are to be applied in the case of an employed contributor remunerated other than on a weekly basis.

(c) An employer who adjusts the method of payment of reckonable earnings to an employed contributor who was employed in consecutive weeks in order to ensure that the employed contributor is exempted in any week from the employment contribution payable under subsection (1) (b) (i) by virtue of paragraph (a) and regulations made thereunder shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £10,000.”.