Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of Employers) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations 1994 (“the principal GB Regulations”) and the Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of Employers) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994 (“the principal NI Regulations”).

The principal GB Regulations and the principal NI Regulations enable an employer to recover payments of statutory maternity pay and, if he is a small employer, an additional amount in respect of such pay. Regulations 2(b) and 3(b) of these Regulations reduce the additional amount from 4.5 per cent. to 3.0 per cent. of the payment of statutory maternity pay in the principal GB Regulations and the principal NI Regulations respectively. This reduction takes effect from 6th April 2011.

As these Regulations are made under section 167(2)(b) and (4) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and section 163(2)(b) and (4) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, proposals to make them are exempt from reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee in their application to Great Britain by virtue of section 172(3) of, and paragraph 8 of Schedule 7 to, the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c.5) and in their application to Northern Ireland by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to, the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c.8).

These Regulations amend an existing regulatory regime by a pre-determined formula and the associated administrative costs are negligible. Publication of a full impact assessment is not considered necessary for such legislation.