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Proceeding contribution from Lord German (Liberal Democrat) in the House of Lords on Thursday, 3 March 2011. It occurred during Debate on bill and Committee proceeding on Pensions Bill [HL].


Pensions Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am still a little confused over the explanation. I understand fully the point about somebody hitting the relevant target in the third month. However, my question was the other way round—where someone hits the target in months one and two but does not hit it in month three. In seasonal worker terms, this could happen if someone was picked up and employed in May, perhaps worked through May, June and July and found a bad—wet or something—August, for which they could not get the money in. The important issue is simplicity but also understanding. It may be that a three-month period applies, but it was not absolutely clear from the Minister’s reply when, once you have a first waiting period, the second test would occur. What if you fail to meet the criteria that he has just described in that first three-month period? You will then need to have another piece of information made available to the employee to say, ““You have not quite done it but this is the way you go next””. It seems to become far more complex if you cannot have it in some way accumulatively worked out. I will obviously withdraw the amendment. However, I hope that the Minister will come back at some stage with some further explanation of the anomaly of the people who are in the position that I have described, in which they pass the threshold in months 1 and 3 but not in month 2, yet wish to maintain their position within the company.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
725 c220GC 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords Grand Committee
Subjects
Women Employees' contributions Employers' contributions Personal income Low incomes Workplace pensions Pensions Temporary employment State retirement pensions Self-employed National employment savings trust scheme
Legislation
Pensions Bill (HL) 2010-12
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk