Short Title and Commencement.

In exercise of the several powers conferred on them by the National Insurance (Health) Acts, 1911 to 1918, and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, the National Health Insurance Joint Committee, acting jointly with the Insurance Commissioners, hereby make the following Regulations:

PART I.

GENERAL.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Insurance (Collection of Contributions) Consolidated Regulations, 1918, and shall come into operation on the first day of July, 1918.

Interpreta- 2. (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise

tion.

requires :

"The Act 39 means Parts I. and III. of the National Insurance Act, 1911, (a) and "the Act of 1918" means the National Health Insurance Act, 1918, (b) and any reference to the Act includes where necessary a reference to any Act which is deemed to be part of or to be construed as one with that Act:

"The Joint Committee " means the National Health Insurance Joint Committee.

"The Commissioners " means the Insurance Commissioners: Society" means any Society approved for the purposes of the Act, and includes a branch of a Society:

"Exempt person means a person to whom a certificate of exemption which is still in force has been granted by any of the several bodies of Commissioners appointed under the Act:

"Employment" means employment within the meaning of the Act, and "employed,' "unemployed 66 and unemploy

ment" have the corresponding meanings:

"Card" means a card (other than a record card) issued under these Regulations or other Regulations in force at the time of the issue of the card, or, where the circumstances so require, under the corresponding Regulations of any other of the several bodies of Commissioners appointed under the Act; and “proper card " in relation to any insured or exempt person means such a card as is appropriate to the circumstances of the case of that person :

"Stamp" means a stamp issued under Section 108 of the Act for the purposes of the Act:

"Week" means the period from midnight on one Sunday to midnight on the following Sunday:

"Period of currency means the period during which any

card is current:

"Postmaster" includes a sub-postmaster:

Arrears" in relation to payment thereof means the money payment to avoid reduction or suspension of benefit in respect

of arrears to be made under any Regulations relating to the benefits of persons in arrears made under the Act of 1918, and for the time being in force.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations, separate periods of employment in the service of one employer with intervening periods of employment in the service of another employer shall be deemed to be separate employments.

(3) The Interpretation Act, 1889, (a) applies to the interpretation of these Regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

3 These Regulations shall not, unless otherwise expressed, apply

(a) to persons employed in the naval or military service of the Crown, or in the Air Force; or

(b) to masters, seamen, or apprentices to the sea service or to the sea-fishing service; or

(c) as respects payment of contributions under any Regulations made under the proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 13 of the Act of 1918.

Saving as

to persons in the service of the Crown, etc.

4. Where by these Regulations anything is required to be Assent of His done by any postmaster the Regulations shall have effect only Majesty's in so far as His Majesty's Postmaster-General may concur therein. Postmaster

General.

5. The National Health Insurance (Collection of Contributions) Revocation Consolidated Regulations, 1915, (b) and the National Health of previous Insurance (Collection of Contributions) Amendment Regulations, Regulations. 1915,(c) are hereby revoked, but without prejudice to any right, privilege, obligation, or liability acquired, accrued, or incurred thereunder, or to any adaptation or application thereof in any other Regulations issued by the Commissioners or by the Joint Committee.

amendments.

6. Where by any Regulations made at any time after these Regulations any Article or part of any Article or words are to be reRegulations directed to be added to or omitted from these these Regula- printed with tions, or to be substituted for any other Article or part of any Article or words in these Regulations, then copies of these Regulations, printed under the authority of His Majesty's Stationery Office after such direction takes effect may be printed with any Article or part of any Article or words so added or omitted or substituted as such direction requires, and with the Articles and paragraphs thereof numbered in accordance with such direction, (d) and these Regulations shall be construed as if they had, at the time at which such direction takes effect, been made with such addition, omission or substitution, and a reference in any Regulations made by the Joint Committee or any of the bodies of Commissioners to the National Health Insurance (Collection of Contributions) Consolidated Regulations, 1918, shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed to refer to these Regulations as amended by any other Regulations for the time being in force.

(a) 52-3 V. c. 63.

(b) Printed St. R. & O. 1915, II., p. 45. (c) Printed St. R. & O., 1915, II., p. 97.

(d) The Regulations have not (Dec. 31, 1918) been amended.

Issue of
Cards.

PART II.

EMPLOYED CONTRIBUTORS.

7.-(1) Every person who becomes an employed contributor shall, upon becoming an employed contributor, apply to the Society of which he is a member, or, if he is not a member of a Society, to a postmaster, for the issue to him of a proper card, and the Society or postmaster to whom such application is made shall issue a card to him accordingly.

(2) Every Society shall on or before the expiration of the period of currency of a card issue to each member being an employed contributor the proper card for the next period of

currency.

(3) If an employed contributor being a member of a Society has not received a proper card from his Society at the beginning of a period of currency he shall make application for a card to his Society, and if he does not receive a card before the time when it is required for presentation to his employer as hereinafter provided, he shall make application to a postmaster for the issue to him of a card, and the postmaster shall issue a card to him. accordingly.

(4) If an employed contributor who is not a member of a Society has not received a proper card from the Commissioners at the beginning of a period of currency, he shall apply to a postmaster for the issue te him of a proper card, and the postmaster shall issue a card to him accordingly.

(5) An employed contributor shall, where he is transferred from one Society to another, or otherwise ceases to be a member of a Society, or being a deposit contributor becomes a member of a Society, or where the card is lost or destroyed, or so damaged as to become useless for the purpose for which it is issued, and may, where he changes his employment during a period of currency, make an application to the Society of which he is or becomes a member, or to a postmaster, as the case may require, for the issue to him of a new card, and upon the receipt of that application the Society or postmaster shall issue to him a new card accordingly.

(6) Where a voluntary contributor becomes employed, he may, as he thinks fit, either retain the card issued to him as a voluntary contributor and treat it as having been duly issued to him under this Article, or surrender the card and apply for the issue of a card to him as an employed contributor.

(7) A Society or postmaster issuing any card shall inscribe upon it the name and address of the employed contributor to whom it is issued, and a Society may, if it thinks fit, further inscribe upon the card the number of the contributor as it appears in the books of the Society, and also any number or mark which may from time to time be registered for the purposes of

this Article by the Society in the books of the Commissioners, and a branch of a Society may add the number of the branch in the books of the Society.

8.-(1) Every employed contributor shall, unless prevented Production by some reasonable cause, produce to his employer the proper and delivery card for the current period at the time of entering any employ- of card to ment and at such other times as the employer may reasonably employer. require and for the purpose of this paragraph a person becoming an employed contributor by reason of attaining the age of 16 shall be deemed to be entering an employment on attaining that age. (2) Every employed contributor shall, unless prevented by some reasonable cause, deliver up the proper card to his employer at such times as the employer may reasonably require it for the purpose of stamping in accordance with these Regulations.

(3) An employer may retain in his possession any card delivered up to him for the purpose of being stamped until it has been so stamped or, with the consent of the employed contributor, and except as hereinafter provided, until the expiration of the period of currency of the card, and the employer shall exercise reasonable care to prevent the loss or destruction of any card so retained by him.

9.-(1) Every employer shall, whenever any officer appointed Return of under the Act so requests him, either in person or by notice in card by writing, produce or cause to be produced to the officer the card employer. then current of any employed contributor employed by him and any card then in his possession, and, subject to the provisions of paragraph (3) of the preceding Article, the employer shall upon receiving back from the officer the card of a contributor return. it forthwith to the contributor.

(2) The employer shall return to the contributor any card in his possession or under his control at each of the times following, that is to say,

(a) on the termination of the employment, except where the employment is terminated by the contributor without any notice or intimation to the employer, in which case the time shall be within fourteen days of the termination of the employment;

(b) on the expiration of the period of currency of the card or within six days thereafter;

(c) within 48 hours after receiving a request in that behalf from the contributor, whether such request is made before or after the termination of the employment. Where for any reason, other than the loss or destruction of the card, the card cannot be returned to the contributor, the employer shall, as soon as may be, send it to the Commissioners.

(3) In any case where a card is returned by an employer to the contributor, the contributor shall furnish to the employer, if the employer so requires, a receipt for the card.

10.-(1) Every contribution payable under the Act shall, except as otherwise provided in these Regulations, be paid by the affixing of a stamp to the card of the contributor in the space indicated for that purpose upon the card.

Method of payment of tions.

contribu

(2) An employer who is liable to pay contributions in respect of any contributor employed by him shall pay those contribution: at the following times and in accordance with the following provisions, that is to say:

(i) Where he pays to the contributor wages or other pecuniary remuneration in respect of the employment, he shall, before paying to the contributor the wages or remuneration in respect of the period for which contributions are payable, affix to the card of the contributor a stamp or stamps in payment of the contributions due in respect of that period:

Provided, nevertheless, that it shall be the duty of the employer in any case

(a) before the termination of the employment, except where the employment is terminated by the contributor without any notice or intimation to the employer, in which case the employer shall pay contributions within fourteen days of the termination of the employment,

(b) within six days after the expiration of the period of currency of the card,

(c) within 48 hours after receiving a request in that behalf from the contributor,

to affix to the card of the contributor a stamp or stamps in payment of all the weekly contributions payable in respect of the period ending at the date of such termination, expiration, or request.

(ii) Where he does not pay to the contributor wages or other pecuniary remuneration in respect of the employment, he shall, on the first day of employment in each week, affix to the card of the contributor a stamp in payment of the contribution in respect of that week.

(iii) In the case of a man of the Naval Reserves, or of the Army Reserve, or of the Air Force Reserve, or of the Territorial Force, or of the Auxiliary Air Force, who is for the time being, by reason of sub-section (8) of Section 46 of the Act as extended by Section 25 of the Act of 1918 deemed to be in the sole employment of the Crown, the time for affixing stamps to the card of the contributor shall, where the period of currency of the card expires during any period of training, be any time before the expiration of the period of currency, and where the period of currency does not so expire, be any time before the termination of the training.

(iv) Where an employed contributor fails to deliver up to his employer a card for the purpose of being stamped, the employer shall pay any contribution payable in respect of him by affixing a stamp to a card (in these Regulations called an emergency card ") to be