DANSP19400 - Decision types: Statutory payments decisions: Liability to pay decisions

Social Security (Contributions) (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999 (Transfer Act) or

Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (Transfer Order)

Decisions about who is liable to pay Statutory Payments to a worker are made under section 8(1)(g) of the Transfer Act or Article 7(1)(g) of the Transfer Order.

When a person is liable to pay Statutory Payments (SPs) there will also be an employee with entitlement to them. So, often decisions about liability to pay SPs are issued with decisions about an employee’s entitlement to receive SPs, see DANSP19300. Usually, the person liable to pay the SP is the worker’s employer. Guidance about who is liable to pay can be found in the SPM.

The type of disputes that may require a decision about who is liable to pay SPs include:

• an employer has not paid any SPs when an employee has entitlement,
• an employee works for more than one employer carrying on business in association together, see NIM10010,
• an employer withholds payment of SPs because the employee notified a period of incapacity for work or date they wanted SMP, SPP, SAP, ShPP or SPBP to start late and the employer considers the employee did not have a good enough excuse but the employee considers they have a good excuse,
• employees transferred to another business entity and both business entities refuse to pay SPs.

For guidance about wording decisions about liability see DANSP36900.