The National Insurance Contributions and Statutory Payments Act 2004 is headed: "An Act to make provision relating to the payment and administration of national insurance contributions and the provision of information in connection with the payment of statutory sick pay and statutory maternity pay, and for connected purposes"

The Act is also intended to facilitate employee share ownership and to assist employees who have difficulty in getting their employers to pay statutory sick pay (''SSP'') and statutory maternity pay (''SMP''). The idea is for regulations to be made under which employers will be required to produce wages sheets and other documents to the Inland Revenue to confirm that SSP and SMP are being paid properly to employees and former employees (see National Insurance Contributions and Statutory Payments Act 2004 ss. 9 and 10)

Another purpose of the Act is to extend the range of share options on the exercise of which employers and employes can make joint elections for repayment of national insurance contributions (NICs). The effect is that employers will be able to ask employees who acquire restricted or convertible securities (shares) by reason of their employment to pay the employer's NI contributions arising (see Finance Act 2003 sch 22).

The Inland Revenue website includes a quite short and readable Inland Revenue explanation of the National Insurance Contributions and Statutory Payments Act 2004 and there are official explanatory notes to the Act on the Parliament website.

For relevant general notes see Social Security/Inland Revenue and DSS linking .