NIS ACT: Part 4

PART IV

Insured Persons and Contributions

Persons insured

26. (1) Subject to this Act every person who

(a) is between the ages of sixteen and sixty;

(b) is engaged in insurable employment;

(d) has fulfilled such conditions as may be prescribed as to domicile or residence in Saint Lucia; or

(e) is in employment outside Saint Lucia under such conditions as shall be prescribed;

shall be an insured person in respect of the several contingencies in relation to which benefits are provided under this Act, and shall remain so insured until he or she satisfies the conditions for retirement.

(2) Every person who on the appointed day was a member of the National Provident Fund, established under the National Provident Fund Act 1970, shall be an insured person under this Act.

(3) The Minister may make Regulations to provide for the treating of the following categories as insurable employment:

(a) any category of employment which, though not employment under a contract of service, is subject to such conditions as to make it similar to employment under a contract of service;

(b) any employment outside Saint Lucia in continuation of any insurable employment;

(c) employment outside Saint Lucia of a person domiciled or having a place of residence in Saint Lucia, being employment as a member of the diplomatic or consular service of the diplomatic or consular service of Saint Lucia or as a domestic worker employed by a member of such service.

(4) The following categories shall be treated as insurable employment unless otherwise provided in Regulations:

(a) employment which is of a casual or subsidiary nature or in which the person concerned is engaged only to an inconsiderable extent;

(b) employment as a relative or partner in the service of or for the purpose of trade or business, of the employer or person concerned;

(c) such employment in the service of, or in the service of a person employed with such international organisations or countries (other than Saint Lucia) as may be prescribed.

(5) The Minister may make Regulations to provide for treating a person’s employment as continuing during periods of holiday, incapacity for work or such other circumstances as may be prescribed.

Self-employed persons; persons under sixteen years or over sixty-five years; and voluntary persons

27. (1) The Minister may make Regulations to provide for treating as an insured person under this Act:

(a) a person under sixteen years of age;

(b) a person over sixty years of age;

(d) a person who though not liable under this Act to pay contributions, wishes to do so voluntarily.

(2) Any such Regulations may provide for such modifications of this Act as may be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to this section.

Liability to make deductions and contributions

28.— (1) Contributions shall, subject to this Act, be payable by both employers and insured persons.

(2) Every employer shall make deductions from the wages of every insured person employed by him or her for the relevant contribution period and shall also make a contribution, in respect of such wages in the manner specified in the Second Schedule to this Act.

Exceptions from liability to make contribution

29. Nothing in section 28 shall be deemed to impose any liability on any employer to make payments into the Fund in respect of any employee included in any of the categories listed in the Third Schedule to this Act.

Regulations for employer/employee contributions and exemptions

30. The Minister may on the advice of the Board by Regulations provide for —

(a) the fixing from time to time of the rates of contributions to be paid by insured persons and employers, including the rates of contributions to be paid by different categories of insured persons and employers as prescribed;

(b) exempting insured persons from liability to pay contributions for such periods as he or she considers necessary and in particular for periods—

(i) of incapacity for work; or

(ii) of full-time unpaid apprenticeship;

(c) crediting contributions to insured persons for periods for which such persons are exempted under paragraph (b) and for such other periods as he or she may consider necessary;

(d) fixing from time to time the maximum salary or wages on which deduction may be made in the Third Schedule;

(e) fixing from time to time the prescribed conditions for any benefit under this Act or the Regulations;

Liability of person providing employees to others

31. Where any person agrees with another person to provide employees to such other person for any lawful purpose, such employees shall, unless the Director otherwise decides, be deemed for the purpose of this Act to be in the employment of the first mentioned person.

Deductions from wages

32.— (1) Subject to this Act any deductions from wages shall be made at the time when the wages are paid to an employee.

(2) Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed from time to time, where for any reason the employer fails to deduct an employee’s contributions at the time of payment of such wages, he or she may, within six months thereafter, make any deductions in one amount or by instalments as the employee may agree over any period not exceeding six months, in respect of the amount which was omitted to be deducted.

(3) Where an employee dies during a contribution period, no contribution shall be payable from his or her wages or by an employer for the contribution period and any such contribution if deducted and paid to the Fund shall be dealt with as decided by the Director.

(4) Where an employer deducts contributions from the wages of employees under this section, the contribution shall be deemed to be held by the employer in trust for the purpose of this Act and the failure of the employer to pay the contributions to the Fund shall be an offence under this Act.

(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed as an authorisation to an employer to deduct or recover the employer’s contribution from the wages of any employee, and notwithstanding any contract to the contrary any such deductions or recovery by an employer shall be an offence under this Act.

(6) Nothing in the Protection of Wages Ordinance 1965, or in any other enactment, shall affect any deduction from the wages of an employee under this Act.

Payment of contributions

33.— (1) Subject to this Act, every employer shall pay to the Fund in respect of each employee at the end of each contribution period, as contributions for the relevant period the several amounts for employers and employees set out in the Second Schedule.

(2) Except where Regulations otherwise provide, an employer, liable to make deductions and to pay contributions in respect of the wages of an insured person employed by him or her, shall be liable to pay into the Fund on behalf of such person any deductions and contributions payable in respect of such person for the relevant contribution period and for the purposes of this Act, any contributions so paid by an employer on behalf of such person shall be deemed to be contributions paid by such person.

Surcharge for late payment

34.— (1) Where any contributions which an employer is liable to pay under this Act are not paid within the time prescribed, the employer shall be liable to pay a surcharge on the total amount of the contribution not so paid to the Fund at the rate of one point two five per cent (1.25%) or such other rate as may be prescribed in respect of each month or part of a month after the expiration of the date when payment should have been made.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Director may in any case in which he or she thinks fit, remit in whole or in part, the payment of any surcharge due under this Act.

Crediting of unpaid contributions

35.— (1) Where an employer fails to pay any contributions which he or she is required to pay under this Act, the Director may, if satisfied that such failure was not due to the consent or connivance of the employee, credit to the employee the amount of the contributions which should have been paid in respect of that employee and shall charge the amount so credited to the general expenditure of the Fund.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall prejudice the right of the Director to recover the amount of such contributions together with any surcharge due under this Act from the employer, and any such amount shall be recoverable as a debt owed by the employer to the Fund and when so recovered shall be credited to the general revenue of the Fund.

Employment by more than one employer

36. When an employee is employed successively or concurrently in a contribution period by more than one employer, each employer shall be liable to pay, to the Fund, contributions with respect to the wages paid by each employer to the employee.

Contributions and other payments where benefit drawn

37. Nothing contained herein shall relieve an employer from —

(a) liability to continue to contribute to the Fund in respect of any employee who has previously or who is in receipt of a benefit from the Fund, and who is under pensionable age;

(b) the obligation to pay any salary to an employee who is in receipt of a benefit under this Act, where the employee’s wage agreement provides for such payment during periods of incapacity for work.

Contributions or benefits to be inalienable

38.— (1) Subject to this Act, no contribution to the Fund nor any benefits paid or payable out of the Fund, nor any rights of any insured person shall be assignable or transferable or liable to be attached, seized, sequestrated or levied upon for or in respect of any debt or claim whatsoever and any security or pledge or assignment given before or after the coming into force of this Act in respect of contributions paid by or benefits due to an insured person shall be void.

(2) The bankruptcy of an employee or employer shall not affect the

deductions of contributions due under this Act.

Regulations relating to payment and collection of contributions

39. The Minister may make Regulations to provide for —

(a) the registration of employers and employees;

(b) the issue of national insurance cards, their substitution and numbers;

(d) treating, for the purpose of any right to benefit, contributions paid after the due dates, as paid on such dates as may be prescribed or as not having been paid;

(e) treating for the purpose of any right to benefit, contributions payable by an employer on behalf of an insured person as paid, where the failure to pay is shown not to have been with the consent or connivance of or attributable to any negligence on the part of such person;

(f) for the return of contributions paid in error;

(g) the maintenance by employers of records of the payment of contributions;

(h) treating any prescribed person as the employer where an insured person works under the general control or management of some person other than his immediate employer, including the adjustment of any rights or liabilities amongst the prescribed employer, the immediate or other employer and the insured person;

(i) for any other matters incidental to the collection and payment of contributions under this Act.

Contributions exempt from Income Tax Act 1989

40. Contributions paid under this Act by employees and employers shall be allowable deductions under the Income Tax Act 1989, No. 1.