Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981
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Loss of benefit because of employer's default. [1952, s. 35] |
132.—(1) Where an employer has failed or neglected— | |
(a) to pay any employment contribution which under this Part he is liable to pay in respect of an employed contributor in his employment, or | ||
(b) to comply, in relation to any such employed contributor, with any requirement of this Part or regulations which relates to the payment or collection of employment contributions, | ||
and by reason thereof the employed contributor or any other person has lost, in whole or in part, any benefit to which he would have been entitled, such contributor or other person shall be entitled to recover from the employer as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction a sum equal to the amount of the benefit so lost. | ||
(2) Where an employed contributor or other person has lost benefit in a case referred to in subsection (1) and has not taken proceedings under that subsection, the Minister may, in the name of and on behalf of such contributor or other person, recover from the employer as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction a sum equal to the amount of the benefit lost. | ||
[1971, s. 9] | ||
(3) Where, by virtue of regulations made under section 14 — | ||
(a) employment contributions which have not been paid have been treated as paid, or | ||
(b) employment contributions which have been paid late have been treated as paid on the due dates, | ||
and by reason thereof benefit which would otherwise have been lost was paid, there shall be due to the Social Insurance Fund by the employer the amount of the benefit which would have been so lost. | ||
(4) Proceedings may be taken under this section notwithstanding that proceedings have been taken under any other provision of this Part in respect of the same failure or neglect. | ||
[1966 MP, s. 8] | ||
(5) In ascertaining, for the purposes of this section, the amount of benefit lost by an employed contributor or other person by reason of a failure or neglect referred to in subsection (1), account shall not be taken of any assistance paid to such contributor or other person during a period when he was losing benefit by reason of such failure or neglect. | ||
(6) The amount of assistance paid to an employed contributor or other person during a period when he was losing benefit by reason of a failure or neglect referred to in subsection (1) may be recovered by the Minister— | ||
(a) in case the full amount of the benefit which was lost has been recovered by such contributor or other person, from such contributor or other person— | ||
(i) by deduction from any benefit or assistance to which such contributor or other person may be or become entitled, or | ||
(ii) as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction, or | ||
(b) in any other case, from the employer guilty of the failure or neglect as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction, | ||
and, if the amount of the assistance is recovered by the Minister from the employer, the sum recoverable by such contributor | ||
or other person from the employer under this section shall be reduced by the amount of such assistance. | ||
(7) Any sums recovered by the Minister under subsection (6) shall be paid into the Exchequer. | ||
(8) In this section “assistance” means an old age or blind pension, unemployment assistance or a widow's (non-contributory) pension; or an orphan's (non-contributory) pension under Part III . |