The Health and Social Care (Pension Scheme) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

Joining and leaving the SchemeN.I.

Joining [F1this Section of] the SchemeN.I.

156.—[F2(1) Subject to paragraph (3), a person in HSC employment who is eligible to be an active member of this Section of the Scheme becomes such a member, unless absent from work for any reason, on either—

(a)the commencement of the person’s employment; or

(b)in circumstances where the person has previously opted out of this Section of the Scheme under regulation 157(1), on that person’s—

(i)automatic enrolment date; or

(ii)automatic re-enrolment date, except where the notice referred to in regulation 157(1) was given within the 12 months immediately preceding that date.]

(2) A person who is eligible to be such a member by virtue of falling within regulation 153(3)(b) may opt to become such a member by giving notice in writing to the employing authority.

[F3(3) A person who has previously exercised an option to opt out of this Section of the Scheme in accordance with regulation 157(1) in respect of an employment in which that person was an active member, and who remains eligible to be such a member in respect of that employment, may opt to join or re-join this Section of the Scheme by giving notice in writing to the employing authority in such form as the Department requires.]

(4) A notice under paragraph (3) takes effect—

(a)from the beginning of the first pay period to begin after the notice is received by the employing authority, or

(b)if the notice specifies a date that is the first day of a later pay period, from that date.

(5) A notice under paragraph (3) may not be given by a person who is absent from work for any reason.

F4(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Opting out of [F5this Section of] the SchemeN.I.

157.—(1) A person who is an active member of [F5this Section of] the Scheme in any [F6HSC] employment may opt at any time to cease to be such a member by giving notice in writing to the person's employing authority.

[F7(2) A person who opts out under paragraph (1) ceases to be an active member of this Section of the Scheme on the date the notice takes effect and, if applicable, any contributions made by or on behalf of the person for a period of membership after the date on which the notice was effective must be refunded.]

(3) The notice takes effect—

(a)from the beginning of the first pay period to begin after the notice is received by the employing authority, or

(b)if the notice specifies a later date, from the beginning of the first pay period after that in which the specified date falls.

[F8(4) A person to whom paragraph (1)(a) of regulation 156 applies in respect of an employment who gives notice in writing under paragraph (1) of this regulation within one month of the date of commencing that HSC employment, is treated as not having become an active member by virtue of that regulation.

(5) A notice under paragraph (1) shall cease to have effect on the day immediately preceding, as the case may be, the person’s—

(a)automatic enrolment date, or

(b)automatic re-enrolment date: this does not apply where the notice was given within 12 months immediately preceding that date.]

F9(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) A practitioner who opts not to contribute to [F5this Section of] the Scheme [F10in respect of one or more employments as a practitioner under this Part must do so] in respect of all his employments as a practitioner [F11but] may, nevertheless, participate in [F5this Section of] the scheme in respect of concurrent employment as an officer under Part 2 [F12or as a locum practitioner] [F13: this is subject to paragraph (10) of regulation 260].

[F14(8) This regulation does not apply to a person to whom sections 3, 5 or 8 of the 2008 Act and regulations 9 or 15 of the 2010 Regulations applies (that is, a person who is subject to automatic enrolment or automatic re-enrolment in this Section of the Scheme as a qualifying scheme who does not wish to participate in it): this paragraph does not affect the rights of such a person who subsequently becomes a member of this Section of the Scheme in circumstances where those provisions of the 2008 Act and 2010 Regulations do not apply.]

Restriction on further participation in [F15this Section of] the SchemeN.I.

158.—(1) A person who ceases to meet conditions A, B and C in regulation 153 in an employment or is prevented by regulation 154 from continuing to be an active member in an employment must cease to be an active member of [F15this Section of] the Scheme in that employment.

(2) Accordingly—

(a)a person within paragraph (1) may not make any further contributions to [F15this Section of] the Scheme under Chapter 3 (contributions); and

(b)any further service of the person is not pensionable service for the purposes of [F15this Section of] the Scheme.

Membership: locum practitionersN.I.

159.—(1) Regulation 156 does not apply to a locum practitioner.

(2) A locum practitioner may apply to join [F16this Section of] the Scheme by sending an application to the employing authority and submitting such evidence relating to his service as a locum practitioner and the contributions payable in respect of it as are required by that employing authority.

(3) On receiving such an application, such evidence and such contributions, the employing authority must submit the application to the Department.

(4) No application may be made under paragraph (2) in respect of a period of engagement as a locum practitioner ending earlier than ten weeks before the date of the application.