European Communities (Social Welfare) Regulations, 1994

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 312/1994
• Year: 1994

S.I. No. 312 of 1994.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (SOCIAL WELFARE) REGULATIONS, 1994.
The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 92/85/EEC of 19 October, 1992* insofar as it relates to entitlement to an adequate allowance for pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding, hereby makes the following Regulations:
*O.J. No. L 348/1 28.11.1992, p 14-20.
PART I General
	1 Citation	1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Social Welfare) Regulations, 1994.
	2 Interpretation	2. In these Regulations, "the Principal Act" means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 (No. 27 of 1993).
	3 Commencement	3. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 19th day of October, 1994.
PART II Health and Safety Benefit
	4 Health and safety benefit	4. The Principal Act shall have effect as if modified by the insertion after Chapter 8 of Part II of the following Chapter:
"Chapter 8A
Health and Safety Benefit
Interpretation.
41A.—In this Chapter—
'confined' and 'confinement' have the meanings respectively assigned to them by section 41;
'nightwork' means work in the period between the hours of 11 p.m. on any day and 6 a.m. on the next following day, where
( a ) the woman works more than three hours in the said period as a normal course, or
( b ) 25 per cent. of the woman's working time is performed as a normal course in such period;
'period of absence' means a period of absence referred to in section 41B (2) (b) (i) (C) or section 41B (2) (b) (ii) and any two periods of absence arising from the same pregnancy or subsequent confinement shall be treated as one period of absence;
'pregnant woman' means a woman who is pregnant and who has informed her employer of her condition;
'risk of exposure' means a risk of exposure to—
( a ) the agents, processes or working conditions specified in the Seventh Schedule,
( b ) the agents or working conditions specified in Part A of the Eighth Schedule, in the case of a pregnant woman, or
( c ) the agents or working conditions specified in Part B of the Eighth Schedule, in the case of a woman who is breastfeeding;
'week' means a period of 7 consecutive days beginning on the 1st day of the period of absence or the date of confinement, as the case may be;
'woman who has recently given birth' means at any time a woman who has been confined not more than 14 weeks previously and who has informed her employer of her condition;
'woman who is breastfeeding' means at any time a woman who, having been confined not more than 26 weeks previously, is breastfeeding and has informed her employer of her condition;
'woman who is required to perform nightwork' means a pregnant woman, a woman who has recently given birth or a woman who is breastfeeding, who is required to perform nightwork at any time either during her pregnancy or in the period of 14 weeks following her confinement and who has furnished her employer with a certificate from a registered medical practitioner certifying that it is necessary for her health and safety that she does not perform nightwork.
Entitlement to benefit.
41B.— (1) This Chapter applies to—
( a ) pregnant women,
( b ) women who have recently given birth, and
( c ) woman who are breastfeeding:
Provided that any such woman is, immediately before the 1st day of the period of absence, an employed contributor.
(2) Subject to this Act, a woman to whom this Chapter applies shall be entitled to health and safety benefit, if—
( a ) it is certified by a registered medical practitioners or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Minister that it is to be expected that she will be confined or that she has been confined, as the case may be, in a week specified in the certificate;
( b ) (i) other than in the case of a woman who is required to perform night work, it is certified by her employer that, on a date to be specified in the certificate,-
(A) there is a risk to her health an safety or a possible effect on her pregnancy or breastfeeding resulting from any activity at her employer's place of work which is likely to involve a risk of exposure;
(B) it is not technically or objectively feasible to—
(I) temporarily adjust her working conditions or working hours, or
(II) move her to suitable alternative work
or such an adjustment or move cannot reasonably be required on duly substantiated grounds, and
(C) as a consequence of the risk of exposure she is unable to continue in her employment and has commenced a period of absence from work with effect from the date specified in the certificate, or
(ii) in the case of a woman who is required to perform nightwork, it is certified by her employer that it is not technically or objectively feasible to move her to suitable alternative work other than nightwork, or such a move cannot reasonably be required on duly substantiated grounds and consequently she is unable to continue in her employment and has commenced a period of absence from work with effect from the date specified in the certificate, and
( c ) she satisfies the conditions in section 41C.
(3) For the purposes of this Chapter, a Sunday shall not in any week be treated as a day of entitlement to health and safety benefit and, accordingly, the amount payable by way of such benefit for any other day of a week shall be one-sixth of the appropriate weekly rate, subject to the total amount being paid at any time by virtue of this subsection being rounded up to the nearest 10p where it is a multiple of 5p but not also a multiple of 10p, and being rounded to the nearest 10p where it is not a multiple of 5p or 10p.
(4) Regulations may provide for requiring a woman to furnish such information as may be required by an officer of the Minister, for the purposes of determining or reviewing her claim for health and safety benefit.
Conditions for receipt.
41C. (1) The conditions for health and safety benefit are—
( a ) (i) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 13 contribution weeks in the 12 months immediately preceding the expected date of confinement or the actual date of confinement, as the case may be, or
(ii) (A) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks in the period beginning with her entry into insurance and ending immediately before the 1st day of the period of absence, and
(B) that the claimant has qualifying contributions or credited contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks in the last complete contribution year before the beginning of the benefit year in which the 1st day of the period of absence occurs,
and
( b ) that the claimant has prescribed reckonable weekly earnings in excess of a prescribed amount in a prescribed period.
(2) The requirement in subsection (1) (a) shall not apply in the case of a claim for health and safety benefit made by a woman who has recently given birth or a woman who is breastfeeding where such woman was in receipt of maternity benefit under section 37 in any of the 22 weeks prior to the 1st day of the period of absence in respect of which the claim for health and safety benefit is made.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), regulations may provide for entitling to health and safety benefit women who would be entitled thereto but for the fact that the condition in subsection (1) (b) is not satisfied.
(4) Regulations for the purposes of subsection (3) shall provide that benefit payable by virtue thereof shall be payable at a rate less than that specified in the Second Schedule, and the rate specified by the regulations may vary with the extent to which the condition set out in subsection (1) (b) is satisfied.
Duration of payment.
41D. (1) Subject to this Chapter, health and safety benefit shall be payable for...