Employee should not lose NIS benefits because of’ failure of employer to pay contributions NIS has legal duty to verify claims -- lawyer

Employee should not lose NIS benefits because of’ failure of employer to pay contributions NIS has legal duty to verify claims — lawyer

Aug 07, 2019 News

An employee should not lose out on the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) benefit because of the failure of the employer to pay over deducted contributions. This is according to Christopher Thompson, an Attorney- at- law attached to the Firm, Chris Ram and Associates.
Thompson, in a letter to the editor published over the weekend explained that there are many cases in which people have been wrongly advised “that as a result of the employer’s failure to remit NIS contributions are grounds for depriving him/her of benefits.”
He stressed that failure by the employer to pay NIS should not deprive a worker of the benefits.
With direct reference to sections of the National Insurance and Social Security Act, the lawyer noted that regulation six of the National Insurance and Social Security (Contributions) Regulations, states, “Where a contribution payable by an employer in respect or on behalf of an insured person is paid after the due date or is not paid, and the delay or failure in making payment thereof is shown to the satisfaction of the Board not to have been with the consent or connivance of, or attributable to any negligence on the part of the insured person, the contribution shall, for the purpose of any right to benefit (emphasis added), be treated as paid on the due date.”
Thompson said, further, that the Firm has engaged in a number of matters, including some that reached and been decided by the Courts, “which establish clearly that in the absence of any collusion on the part of the employee with the employer to deprive the Scheme of contributions, the NIS must recognise those contributions.”
In his letter the lawyer noted, too, a reasonableness and willingness at the level of the Board and senior management of the NIS to treat workers more humanely and to settle issues.
“Those efforts must be stepped up and should take place at all levels of the NIS since we believe that the officer who dealt with the letter writer may simply not be aware of recent developments, including decisions of the Court.
No worker, in times of sickness or during their old age should ever be denied their lawful benefits because of the unlawful conduct of their employers, and in some cases the poor recordkeeping of the NIS.”
Giving further clarity to the issue, Thompson in an invited comment with this newspaper said that while NIS has the responsibility to maintain proper records, the employee or contributor has the duty to check his record of contributions ever so often.
“NIS will not fill the void left by an employer who has not remitted contributions deducted from an employee’s earnings. However, if the employee can prove to the satisfaction of NIS that there was no collusion between himself and his employer to deprive the Scheme of the missing contributions, NIS must honour that contribution.
He stressed, nonetheless, that the National Insurance and Social Security Act Cap. 36:01, ACT places a legal duty to verify on the NIS.
According to the Act, NIS has the right to inspect and verify that the sums deducted are remitted to the Scheme.
Sections of the Act states that the NIS board may designate such officers it thinks fit to be inspectors for the purpose to among other things, entering at all reasonable times any premises or place liable to inspection; to make examination and enquiry as may be necessary for ascertaining whether the provisions of the Act are being or have been complied…
The Act states, too, that inspection of any premises or place liable shall furnish to an examiner all such information and produce for examination all such documents as the inspector may reasonably require for the purpose of ascertaining whether contributions are or have been payable or have been duly paid by or in respect of any person, or whether benefits is/or was so payable to/or in respect of any person …

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