Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005

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Chapter 11

Adoptive Benefit

Entitlement to and duration of adoptive benefit.

[1997 s11(1)]

58.—(1) In this Chapter—

“adopting parent”—

(a) in the case of an employed contributor, has the meaning given to it by section 2(1) of the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 , and

(b) in the case of a person in insurable self-employment means—

(i) a woman in whose care a child (of whom she is not the natural mother) has been placed or is to be placed with a view to the making of an adoption order, or to the effecting of a foreign adoption or following any such adoption,

(ii) a man, in whose care a child has been placed or is to be placed with a view to the making of an adoption order, or to the effecting of a foreign adoption or following any such adoption, where the woman in whose care the child (of whom she is not the natural mother) has been placed or is to be placed has died, and

(iii) a man, other than a man to whom subparagraph (ii) applies, in whose sole care a child has been placed or is to be placed with a view to making an adoption order, or to the effecting of a foreign adoption or following any such adoption;

“certificate of placement” has the meaning given to it by section 13 of the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 ;

“day of placement” has the meaning given to it by section 2(1) of the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 ;

“foreign adoption” has the meaning given to it by the Adoption Act 1991 (as amended by section 10 of the Adoption Act 1998 ).

(2) Subject to this Act, an adopting parent shall be entitled to adoptive benefit where—

(a) (i) in the case of an employed contributor, it is certified by the adopting parent's employer that the adopting parent is entitled to adoptive leave under the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 , or

(ii) in the case of a person in insurable self-employment, a certificate of placement is issued to the adopting parent,

and

(b) the adopting parent satisfies the contribution conditions in section 59 .

(3) Regulations may provide for entitling to adoptive benefit, subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that may be prescribed, the class or classes of adopting parents who would be entitled to that benefit but for the fact that the contribution conditions in section 59 are not satisfied.

(4) Subject to this Chapter, adoptive benefit shall be payable—

(a) in the case of an employed contributor, for the period of adoptive leave to which the adopting parent is entitled under section 6 or 9, as the case may be, of the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 ,

(b) in the case of a person in insurable self-employment, being—

(i) an adopting parent within the meaning of subsection (1)(b)(i) or (iii), for 16 consecutive weeks beginning on the day of placement, or

(ii) an adopting parent within the meaning of subsection (1)(b)(ii), where the adopting mother dies before the day of placement, 16 consecutive weeks beginning on the day of placement or where the adopting mother dies on or after the day of placement, for a period of 16 weeks less a period equivalent to the period beginning on the day of placement and ending on the date of her death,

but where the beneficiary dies, the benefit shall not be payable for any subsequent day.

(5) For the purposes of this section, a Sunday shall not in any week be treated as a day of entitlement to adoptive benefit and, accordingly, the amount payable by way of that 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 10 cent where it is a multiple of 5 cent but not also a multiple of 10 cent, and being rounded to the nearest 10 cent where it is not a multiple of 5 cent or 10 cent.

(6) In the case of an employed contributor, where the employment ceases (whether due to the death of the employer or otherwise) during the period for which adoptive benefit is payable in accordance with subsection (4), the beneficiary shall continue to be treated as if the event which caused the cesser of employment had not occurred.

(7) Regulations may provide for requiring an employer or any other person to furnish any information that may be required for the purposes of determining a claim for adoptive benefit.