(JPA) - Personal Status Categories
- Civil Partnerships
The (edited) text below is derived from the briefing
note entitled "CIVIL PARTNERSHIP ACT 2004 – FACTSHEET"
which was issues to all Service personnel in Oct 05.
PERSONAL STATUS CATEGORIES
Personal Status Categories
will replace ‘Marital Categories’ from
5 December 2005. It should be noted, however, that due to limitations
on changes that can be made to legacy personnel administration IT systems, ‘Marital
Category’ will continue to appear on personnel records until
such time as the legacy systems are replaced by JPA. Thereafter, JPA
records will record only ‘Category’.
STATUS
The definitions of Personal Status Category (PStat
Cat) into which personnel are placed for the purpose of determining
entitlements to
benefits are described below.
All personnel are to be placed into one of the following PStat
Cats:
PStat Cat 1.
Those in PStat Cat 1 will meet one of
the following qualifying criteria:
(1) A married member of the Armed
Forces, who lives with their spouse, or who would do so but for
the exigencies of the Armed
Forces.
(2) A member of the Armed Forces, who is registered
in a civil partnership in accordance with the Civil Partnership
Act 2004, or is in a civil
partnership under an overseas scheme recognised under
that Act, and who lives with their registered civil partner, or
who would
do so
but for the exigencies of the Armed Forces.
PStat Cat 2.
Those in PStat Cat 2 will meet one of
the following qualifying criteria: A member of the Armed Forces
who has parental responsibility within the terms of the Children Act
1989 for a child(ren) and who satisfies
all of the following conditions:
(a) Can properly be regarded as the centre and prime mover in the
life of the child(ren).
(b) Provides a home where they normally live with the child(ren) except
where unable to do so for reasons attributable to their service in
the Armed Forces.
(c) Provides, where the child(ren) is unable to care for itself, a
child carer who can look after the child(ren) during their absences
attributable to their service in the Armed Forces. The child carer
must not be the other natural parent of the child(ren). The other natural
parent should normally only have staying access to the child(ren) for
an aggregate of 56 days in any 12 month period. Staying access greater
than this may render the Service person ineligible for PStat Cat2 (these
restrictions on access do not apply while on recognised Unaccompanied
Duty).
(d) Accepts financial responsibility for the child(ren).
PStat Cat 3.
A member of the Armed Forces who is
not in PStat Cat 1 or 2 and who provides financial support for
their spouse
or former
spouse, civil partner or former civil partner, or child(ren)
by voluntary agreement. In this case, voluntary agreement
means financial support
provided other than pursuant to an order made by a court,
a Child Support Agency Maintenance Assessment, or the MOD under
the relevant
Service Act.
PStat Cat 4.
A member of the Armed Forces who
is not in PStat Cat 1 or 2 and who provides financial support
for their spouse or former
spouse, civil partner or former civil partner or child(ren)
under an order made by a court, a Child Support Agency
Maintenance Assessment,
or the MOD under the relevant Service act.
PStat Cat
5.
All other members of the Armed Forces.
SERVICE, CIVIL
SERVICE AND WELFARE ORGANISATION SPOUSES AND PARTNERS
When the spouse or civil partner of a member of the
Armed Forces in PStat Cat 1 is a member of the Armed Forces (s), or
the UK Civil
Service (c), or a recognised welfare organisation , then the category
is to bear the additional suffix of ‘s’ or ‘c’.
The Service spouse/civil partner and their spouse/civil partner will
elect which spouse/civil partner will be PStat Cat 1 or the Civil Service
equivalent, and which will be PStat Cat 5 or the Civil Service equivalent.
A spouse or civil partner in a welfare organisation is to declare a
PStat Cat in the same way as if they were a UK Civil Servant. The chosen
option will be notified and can only be changed subsequently:
a. On the occasion of substantive promotion, reversion or relinquishment
of rank/grade of either spouse/civil partner.
b. When either spouse/civil partner leaves the Service/Civil Service/recognised
welfare organisation.
c. When either spouse/civil partner goes over zone for promotion.
d. When either spouse/civil partner is assigned in the UK.
e. When a Servicewoman is on unpaid maternity leave.
Where
there is a wish to change the PStat Cat other than in these circumstances,
casework is to be submitted through the chain of command
to JPAC Pay and Allowance Casework Cell (PAAC).
Options must be exercised within 6 months of the
operative date of the change in circumstances.
DEFINITION OF A CHILD
A child is defined as a legitimate or legitimated
child or step-child of either or both of the spouses/civil partners;
a child statutorily
adopted by either or both of the spouses/civil partners; a child
of the family (a legal term meaning any other child who is being brought
up in the household of the spouse/civil partners at their expense
or
was so being brought up immediately before the spouses/civil partners
were estranged, separated by legal order, divorced or before their
marriage or civil partnership was annulled or before the death of
the husband, wife or civil partner). A child is deemed to be below
the
age of majority (18 years). If over that age, a son or daughter must
be 24 years or under, unmarried or not in a civil partnership and
in receipt of full-time education at a school, college or university
(studying
for a first degree only), or be out of full-time education for up
to one year between secondary education and further education. The
age
limits do not apply to a son or daughter who is physically or mentally
incapable of contributing to their own support.
NOTIFICATION OF CHANGE IN STATUS
In order to ensure that Pay, Allowance and Housing
Regulations are properly applied, all Service personnel are to inform
the appropriate
Service Authority of any change of PStat Cat.
A change in PStat Cat is effective from the date of
the occurrence or the legal order and not from the date of declaration,
although retrospective
application of benefits may be withheld when the MOD considers that
notification of change has been unreasonably postponed.
A member of the Armed Forces who has remarried
or registered a new civil partnership is to declare the PStat Cat appropriate
to the
current marriage/civil partnership.
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