The Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (Modification of Section 4A) Order 2026

Published: Wed 25th Mar 26

This Statutory Instrument, made by the Treasury with the concurrence of the Department for Communities, modifies Section 4A of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992.

The primary purpose is to assimilate the law on social security contributions with changes made to income tax law by the Finance Act 2026, particularly regarding earnings paid to workers supplied by service companies or channeled through umbrella companies.

The Order inserts powers allowing regulations to make individuals jointly and severally liable alongside umbrella companies for contributions, define how payments received under deemed employment rules (ITEPA 2003 section 61Z1) are treated as earnings, and assign the purported umbrella company as the secondary contributor for those payments.

Arguments For

The modifications achieve legal consistency by aligning the law regarding social security contributions in Northern Ireland with new income tax provisions introduced by the Finance Act 2026, specifically concerning earnings derived through service companies and umbrella companies.
Establishing joint and several liability for 'jointly liable persons' for employer contributions mirrors their existing liability for income tax under the new ITEPA 2003 rules, ensuring that contributions follow the same liability framework as tax.
The power inserted into Section 4A allows regulations to ensure that payments and benefits channeled through a 'purported umbrella company,' where the worker is treated as an employee for tax purposes (under ITEPA 2003 S.61Z1), are correctly treated as employee earnings for contributions purposes, upholding the contributory base.
By assigning the 'purported umbrella company' the role of the secondary contributor, the Order clarifies who is responsible for remitting secondary Class 1 contributions in these specific employment arrangements, preventing contribution avoidance.

Arguments Against

Introducing joint and several liability for contributions on individuals ('jointly liable persons') who facilitate payments through intermediary structures potentially expands personal financial risk beyond traditional employer responsibilities, creating new avenues for debt recovery against non-company entities.
The complexity introduced by cross-referencing multiple legislative frameworks (SSCB(NI)A, ITEPA 2003, and Finance Act 2026) increases administrative burden and the potential for misinterpretation by payers and workers, particularly concerning the definitions of 'umbrella company' and 'deemed employment.'
Granting the Treasury power via regulations to define which payments or benefits are 'treated as earnings' allows for significant, potentially retrospective, changes to the contribution base without full parliamentary debate on the specific mechanisms.
Further modifications in Article 2(c) allowing the disregard of an employed earner's employment in certain contexts in relation to general expenses deductions may complicate the calculation of net earnings subject to contributions.

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

2026 No. 340

SOCIAL SECURITY

The Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (Modification of Section 4A) Order 2026

| Made - - - | 24th March 2026 | |------------------------|-------------------| | Laid before Parliament | 25th March 2026 | | Coming into force - | 26th March 2026 |

This establishes the document as a Statutory Instrument from 2026, specifically number 340, relating to Social Security in the UK. It specifies the dates it was officially made (March 24th, 2026), laid before Parliament (March 25th, 2026), and when it came into legal effect (March 26th, 2026).

The provisions of Chapter 11 of Part 2 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003( 1 ) were inserted by section 24 of the Finance Act 2026( 2 ).

This contextualizes the change by noting that new provisions regarding income tax on earnings and pensions were introduced via Chapter 11 of Part 2 of the 2003 Income Tax Act by Section 24 of the Finance Act in 2026.

It appears to the Treasury to be expedient, in consequence of those amendments, to modify the provisions of section 4A of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992( 3 ) for the purpose of assimilating the law relating to income tax and the law relating to contributions under Part 1 of that Act.

The Treasury deems it necessary to amend Section 4A of the Northern Ireland Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.

This amendment is required because recent changes to income tax laws necessitate making the rules for social security contributions under Part 1 of that Act consistent with the changes made to income tax.

Accordingly, the Treasury, with the concurrence of the Department for Communities( 4 ), make this Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 4A(9) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992.

The Treasury formally makes this Order, using the specific powers granted under Section 4A(9) of the 1992 Act.

This action requires the formal agreement, or concurrence, of the Department for Communities.

Citation and commencement

This Order may be cited as the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (Modification of Section 4A) Order 2026 and comes into force on 26th March 2026.

This section provides the official short title for the legal instrument being enacted.

It confirms that the Order officially began to have legal effect on March 26th, 2026.

Modification of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992

In section 4A of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (earnings of workers supplied by service companies etc.)-

This article begins the substantive amendments to Section 4A of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992.

This section specifically deals with how contributions are assessed regarding the earnings of workers who are provided via service companies.

(a) after subsection (2B) insert-

'(2C) Regulations may also make provision-

(a) for a person ('a jointly liable person') to be jointly and severally liable for contributions payable by an umbrella company, including contributions payable as a result of provision made by virtue of paragraph (c), in respect of earnings paid to or for the benefit of an earner ('the worker') in circumstances where the jointly liable person is jointly and severally liable for amounts in respect of the employment of the worker as a result of Chapter 11 of Part 2 of ITEPA 2003,
(b) in connection with the recovery of those contributions from a jointly liable person, and
(c) for securing that, where an individual is treated for income tax purposes, as a result of section 61Z1 of ITEPA 2003, as holding an employment with a purported umbrella company, within the meaning of that section-
(i) payments or benefits of any specified description made or provided in connection with the performance by the individual of the services to which the deemed employment relates are treated for the purposes of the applicable provisions of this Act as earnings paid to the worker in respect of an employed earner's employment,
(ii) the individual is treated for those purposes, in relation to such payments or benefits, as employed in the employed earner's employment by the purported umbrella company, and
(iii) the purported umbrella company, whether or not fulfilling the conditions prescribed under section 1(6)(a) for secondary contributors, is treated for those purposes as the secondary contributor in respect of those payments or benefits.';

This clause inserts a new subsection (2C) allowing the creation of regulations to address specific scenarios involving umbrella companies.

It enables regulations to hold a 'jointly liable person' equally responsible with the umbrella company for social security contributions on a worker's earnings, provided that person is already jointly and severally liable for income tax under relevant tax legislation (ITEPA 2003 Chapter 11).

Furthermore, if an individual is treated as an employee of a 'purported umbrella company' for income tax purposes (under ITEPA 2003 section 61Z1), regulations can dictate that specified payments become deemed employee earnings for contribution purposes, treat the individual as employed by that company, and designate the purported umbrella company as the secondary contributor for those payments.

(b) in subsection (3)(g), for 'or the MSC' substitute ', the MSC or an umbrella company';

This amends subsection (3)(g) of the principal Act by replacing a reference that only included 'the MSC' with a phrase that includes 'the MSC or an umbrella company,' thereby extending the scope of that subsection to cover umbrella companies as well.

(c) in subsection (4)-
(i) in paragraph (a), after 'intermediary' insert ', an umbrella company or a jointly liable person';
(ii) in paragraph (b)(i), for 'or the MSC' substitute ', the MSC, an umbrella company or a jointly liable person';

These changes update subsection (4) by broadening the list of entities that can be referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b)(i).

Paragraph (a) now includes 'umbrella company or a jointly liable person' after 'intermediary,' and subparagraph (b)(i) similarly adds these entities after 'the MSC,' ensuring consistency across liability and modification powers.

(d) in subsection (6), at the appropriate place insert-

''umbrella company' has the same meaning as it has for the purposes of Chapter 11 of Part 2 of ITEPA 2003.'.

This amends subsection (6) by inserting a definition for 'umbrella company.' This definition means that the term is interpreted consistently with how it is defined in the relevant income tax legislation, specifically Chapter 11 of Part 2 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.

24th March 2026

Taiwo Owatemi Stephen Morgan Two of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury

This section confirms the date the order was signed and lists the names of the two Lords Commissioners acting on behalf of His Majesty's Treasury who executed the order.

The Department for Communities concurs as indicated in the preamble

This text explicitly confirms that the Department for Communities has given its formal agreement (concurrence) to the provisions, as noted earlier in the preamble of the document.

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24th March 2026

Cherrie Arnold A senior officer of the Department for

Communities

This section acts as the signature block, confirming the date of signing and identifying Cherrie Arnold, a senior officer from the Department for Communities, who is signatory to the instrument, reflecting their role in the concurrence process.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of this Order)

This Order modifies section 4A of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 ('SSCB(NI)A') in consequence of the insertion of Chapter 11 of Part 2 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 ('ITEPA 2003') by the Finance Act 2026.

This note clarifies that the document's content does not legally form part of the Order itself.

The Order amends Section 4A of the 1992 NI Social Security Contributions Act because the Finance Act 2026 introduced new provisions regarding income tax, specifically Chapter 11 of Part 2 of ITEPA 2003.

Article 2(a) inserts new paragraph (2C) and provides the Treasury with a power to treat a person as jointly and severally liable, with an umbrella company, for contributions payable in respect of earnings provided to or for the benefit of a worker, where that person is already jointly and severally liable in relation to income tax under Chapter 11 of Part 2 of ITEPA 2003.

Article 2(a) introduces new paragraph (2C), granting the Treasury regulatory power to establish joint and several liability for social security contributions.

This applies to a named person ('jointly liable person') alongside an umbrella company for amounts concerning a worker's earnings.

This liability mirrors any existing joint liability that person already has for income tax under recent tax law amendments.

It further permits regulations to make provision for the recovery of such contributions from a jointly liable person.

Regulations are permitted under the new provision to establish mechanisms for recovering these social security contributions directly from the 'jointly liable person' identified in the previous step.

In addition, where an individual is treated for income tax purposes, by virtue of section 61Z1 of ITEPA 2003, as holding an employment with a purported umbrella company, regulations may secure that payments or benefits of a specified description are treated as earnings for contributions purposes, that the individual is regarded as employed in relation to those payments or benefits, and that the purported umbrella company is treated as the secondary contributor in respect of those payments or benefits.

The Order also allows regulations to ensure proper accounting when an individual is treated as an employee of a 'purported umbrella company' solely for income tax purposes (under ITEPA 2003 section 61Z1).

Regulations can mandate that specified payments count as statutory earnings for contribution purposes, confirm the individual is viewed as employed by that company for contributions, and designate the purported umbrella company as the entity responsible for paying secondary Class 1 contributions.

Paragraphs (b) and (c) of Article 2 make further modifications to subsections (3) and (4) of section 4A of the SSCB(NI)A to provide powers to disregard an employed earner's employment, in relation to relevant payments or benefits, and for the deduction of specified amounts, in respect of general expenses, and secondary Class 1 contributions.

Article 2(b) and (c) introduce additional technical amendments to subsections (3) and (4) of Section 4A. These empower regulations to deal with situations where an employed earner's existing employment status might need to be disregarded when considering relevant payments or benefits, and to address the deduction of specific amounts related to general expenses and secondary Class 1 contributions.

A Tax Information and Impact Note covering this instrument has been published on the website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/paye-changes-for-the-umbrella-company-market.

This final note informs the reader that a formal Tax Information and Impact Note, detailing the financial and practical effects of this instrument, is publicly available on the UK government's website.

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Arguments For

Arguments Against

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

2026 No. 340

SOCIAL SECURITY

Citation and commencement

Modification of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992

The Department for Communities concurs as indicated in the preamble

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of this Order)

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