# The Statutory Maternity Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations 1987, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations provide for statutory maternity pay (under Part V of the Social Security Act 1986), in relation to persons abroad, women who work as mariners or women who work on the continental shelf.
Under section 50(1) of that Act, a woman is not, as a rule, an "employee' and therefore qualified to receive statutory maternity pay, unless she is employed in Great Britain. Regulation 2 makes exceptions to that rule for women employed in other member States of the European Communities but subject to the legislation of the United Kingdom. This and the other exceptions made by the Regulations are, however, overriden by regulation 3, which provides that the woman is not to be treated as an employee if she would not be so treated if her employment was in Great Britain.
Regulation 4 provides that the maternity pay period is not to begin in a week in which a woman is outside the member States of the European Communities, or, if the maternity pay period has begun, for benefit not to be payable for any week in which she is outside those States.
Where a woman has worked for the same employer both in Great Britain and in another member State, regulation 5 permits her, in specified circumstances, to have her employment in the member State treated as though it was employed earner's employment.
Some of the provisions relating to statutory maternity pay impose time limits, but these are relaxed by regulation 6 in their application to persons who are outside the United Kingdom and for that reason cannot comply with them.
Regulation 7 treats certain mariners as employees for the purposes of entitlement to statutory maternity pay and regulation 8 makes similar provisions for women who worked on the continental shelf.
Regulation 9 provides that the maternity pay period is not to commence, or if commenced, is to end, where a woman is outside the Euoropean Community. This regulation does not apply where the absence is due to the woman's employment as a mariner or on the continental shelf.
The provisions of the Social Security Act 1986 under which these Regulations are made have not yet been in force for 12 months. Accordingly the Regulations are exempt, by section 61(5) of that Act, from reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee and have not been so referred.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1987/418/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/statutory-maternity-pay-persons-abroad-and-mariners-regulations-1987/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.