HC Deb 18 March 1982 vol 20 cc499-500

'(1) Regulations may make provision for the payment to an employer, by the Secretary of State and in prescribed circumstances, of an amount calculated in accordance with the regulations in any case where—

  1. (a) a payment purporting to be a payment of statutory sick pay (the "payment wrongly made") has been made by that employer to a person (the "recipient"); and
  2. (b) that employer was not liable to make that payment under this Part.

(2) Regulations may make provision, in relation to such a case, for the recovery by the Secretary of State from the recipient, in prescribed circumstances, of an amount calculated in accordance with the regulations.

(3) Regulations under this section may make such incidental and supplemental provision in relation to any payment made, or amount recovered, by the Secretary of State under the regulations as he considers expedient and may, in particular, provide—

  1. (a) for any such payment to be treated as discharging, or in prescribed circumstances as partially discharging, any liability of the recipient to repay to the employer the payment wrongly made;
  2. (b) for any such payment to be treated, in prescribed circumstances, as a payment to the recipient of a prescribed benefit ("benefit" having the meaning given by the regulations).

(4) In this section "employer" includes a person believing himself to be an employer of the recipient in question.

(5) Any payment made by the Secretary of State in accordance with regulations under this section shall be paid out of the National Insurance Fund and any amount recovered by him in accordance with the regulations shall be paid by him into that Fund.'.—[Mr. Rossi.]

Brought up, and read the First time.

Mr. Rossi

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

Mr. Speaker

With this we shall take Government amendment No. 65.

Mr. Rossi

The clause replaces paragraph 12 of schedule 2, which is deleted by amendment 65. Paragraph 12 provides in certain circumstances for the reimbursement by the Secretary of State of employers who have paid statutory sick pay in error when national insurance benefit was due instead. The clause widens the scope of that provision in order to encompass the generality of cases where employers have paid statutory sick pay in error and in good faith.

We think that it would be wrong, if an employer has complied in good faith with, for example, a decision of an adjudicating authority which is subsequently reversed on appeal, to leave him to recover the overpaid money from the employee himself. The clause accordingly provides powers to prescribe the circumstances in which the Secretary of State will reimburse an employer who pays statutory sick pay in error, and in which such amounts will be recoverable by the Secretary of State from the employee.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause read a Second time and added to the Bill.

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