Clause 2 - Statutory paternity pay
Employment Bill
10:30 am
Mr Alan Johnson (Minister of State (Employment and the Regions), Department of Trade and Industry; Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Labour)
Yes, I am satisfied that that is the effect of the Bill. The amendment would remove the Secretary of State's ability to specify circumstances in which liability to pay will fall on the Inland Revenue, so it would allow employers to do three things. It would allow them to recover, first, all the statutory paternity pay that they pay out, secondly, the associated employer's national insurance contributions and, thirdly, a further amount that would equal the employer's average administration costs. We already intend to do most of what the amendment calls for and, as I have said, the relevant provisions are in clause 7.