Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023)

PART 4
GENERAL

14.   General rules as to qualifying service and pensionable service

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   (1)   Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, qualifying service shall be the inclusive period between the date on which an officer begins to draw salary in respect of public service and the date of his or her leaving the public service without deduction of any period during which he or she has been absent on leave.

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   (2)   A period which is not qualifying service by virtue of the foregoing paragraph shall not be taken into account as pensionable service.

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   (3)   A period during which the officer was not in public service shall not be taken into account as qualifying service or as pensionable service.

15.   Continuity of service

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   (1)   Except as otherwise provided in these Regulations, only continuous public service shall be taken into account as qualifying service or as pensionable service.

However, any break in service caused by temporary suspension of employment in the public service not arising from misconduct or voluntary resignation shall be disregarded for the purposes of this subregulation.

In addition any person holding office in public service under the Government of Palestine immediately before 15 May 1948, is considered to have continued in his or her office until either he or she was appointed to the service of the Crown elsewhere, or, if he or she was not so appointed, he or she retired or was removed from office.

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   (2)   An officer—

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      (a)     whose pension has been suspended under section 10 of the Act or under a corresponding provision in any law relating to the grant of pensions in respect of public service;

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      (b)     who has retired from the public service without pension on account of ill health, abolition of office, or reorganisation designed to effect greater efficiency or economy, and has subsequently been re-employed in the public service; or

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      (c)     who has left pensionable service under—

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         (i)     any Acts relating to the superannuation of teachers in the United Kingdom,

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         (ii)     a local authority in the United Kingdom,

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         (iii)     the National Health Service of the United Kingdom with a view to entering public service not being pensionable service as aforesaid and has, not later than 3 months, or such extended period as the Governor General may in any particular case approve, after leaving such pensionable service, received any salary in respect of employment in public service not so pensionable,

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   may, if the Governor General thinks fit, be granted the pension or gratuity for which he or she would have been eligible if any break in his or her public service immediately prior to such suspension, re-employment or employment had not occurred, such pension to be in lieu of—

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      (a)     any pension previously granted to him or her from the Consolidated Fund; and

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      (b)     any gratuity so granted which is required to be refunded as a condition of the application to the officer of this regulation,

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      but additional to any gratuity so granted which is not required to be refunded as aforesaid.

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   (3)   Where an officer holding a pensionable office retires from the service of the State in circumstances in which he or she is eligible—

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      (a)     for a pension or gratuity under these Regulations; and

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      (b)     for a pension or gratuity under the Teachers Pensions Act, (or the Acts repealed by that Act),

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   then if his or her service which is pensionable under the Teachers Pensions Act was immediately followed by pensionable service under these Regulations, the Cabinet may, either generally or in any particular case direct that such service which is pensionable under the Teachers Pensions Act, may be taken into account as though it were pensionable service under these Regulations. (Inserted by S.I. 27/1969)

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   (4)   Where an officer holding a pensionable office retires from the service of the State in circumstances in which he or she is eligible—

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      (a)     for a pension or gratuity under these Regulations; and

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      (b)     for a pension or gratuity under the Police Pensions Act 1967 or under the Prison Officers Pensions Act,

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   then if his or her service which is pensionable under the Police Pensions Act 1967, or under the Prison Officers Pensions Act, as the case may be, was immediately followed by pensionable service under these Regulations, the Cabinet may, either generally or in any particular case, direct that such service which is pensionable under the Police Pensions Act 1967, or under the Prison Officers Pensions Act, may be taken into account as though it were pensionable service under these Regulations. (Inserted by S.I. 16 and 20/1971)

16.   Leave without salary

A period during which an officer has been absent from duty on leave without salary shall not be taken into account as pensionable service unless such leave has been granted on grounds of public policy with the approval of the Governor General.

17.   Service in Her Majesty's Forces

Where an officer, during some period of his or her service has been on the active list of the Royal Navy, the Army or the Royal Air Force, and pension contributions have been paid in respect of that period from the Consolidated Fund or funds of any schedule administration and have not been refunded such period shall not be taken into account as pensionable service.

18.   Emoluments to be taken for computation of pensions

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   (1)   For the purpose of computing the amount of the pension or gratuity of an officer who has had a period of no less than 3 years' pensionable service before his or her retirement—

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      (a)     in the case of an officer who has held the same office for a period of 3 years immediately preceding the date of his or her retirement, the full annual pensionable emoluments enjoyed by him or her at that date in respect of that office shall be taken;

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      (b)     in the case of an officer who at any time during such period of 3 years has been transferred from one office to another, but whose pensionable emolument have not been changed by reason of such transfer or transfers, otherwise than by the grant of any scale increment, the full annual pensionable emoluments enjoyed by him or her at the date of his or her retirement in respect of the office then held by him or her shall be taken;

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      (c)     in other cases ¹/₃ of the aggregate pensionable emoluments enjoyed by the officer in respect of his or her service during the 3 years of his or her service immediately preceding the date of his or her retirement shall be taken—

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   However—

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      (i)     if such ¹/₃ is less than the highest annual pensionable emoluments enjoyed by him or her at the date of any transfer within such period of 3 years those annual pensionable emoluments shall be taken, and

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      (ii)     if such ¹/₃ is less than the annual pensionable emoluments which would have been enjoyed by him or her at the date of his or her retirement, if he or she had continued to hold any office from which he or she had been transferred at any time during such period of 3 years, and had received all scale increments which, in the opinion of the Governor General, would have been granted to him or her, the annual pensionable emoluments which would have been so enjoyed shall be taken.

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   (2)   For the purpose of determining under paragraph (1) of this regulation the pensionable emoluments that an officer has enjoyed or would have enjoyed, as the case may be, he or she shall be deemed—

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      (a)     to have been on duty on full pensionable emoluments throughout the period of 3 years immediately preceding the date of his or her retirement; and

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      (b)     to have enjoyed the benefit of any increase due to a general revision in the pensionable emoluments of any office held by him or her as if such increase had been payable throughout such period of 3 years.

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   However, if he or she has been transferred from an office which has been abolished and for this reason the pensionable emoluments of that office have not been considered in a general revision of pensionable emoluments, then, for the purposes of this regulation, the pensionable emoluments attached to the abolished office shall be equated with those of such office or offices as are certified by the appropriate service commission as having enjoyed the same pensionable emoluments as the abolished office at the time of the said revision.

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   (3)   For the purpose of computing the amount of the pension or gratuity of an officer who has had a period of less than 3 years' pensionable service before his or her retirement—

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      (a)     the average annual pensionable emoluments enjoyed by him or her during such period shall be taken;

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      (b)     he or she shall be deemed to have been on duty on full pensionable emoluments throughout such period; and

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      (c)     he or she shall be deemed to have enjoyed the benefit of any increase due to a general revision in the pensionable emoluments of any office held by him or her at if such increase had been payable throughout such period.

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   (4)   The estimated value of free quarters in respect of public service under the Government of Saint Lucia shall not exceed ¹/₆ of the actual salary of the office.

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   (5)   In no circumstances shall the pensionable emoluments taken for the purpose of computing the pension or gratuity of any officer exceed the full annual pensionable emoluments enjoyed by the officer at the date of his or her retirement in respect of the office then held by him or her.

19.   Service in non-pensionable office

Only service in a pensionable office, (not being service in respect of which the officer is entitled to a gratuity in lieu of pension or to benefit under any other scheme of superannuation) shall be taken into account as pensionable service.

However—

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   (a)     where a period of service in a civil capacity otherwise than in a pensionable office (not being service in respect of which the officer is entitled to a gratuity in lieu of pension or to benefit under any other scheme of superannuation) is immediately followed by service in a pensionable office and the officer is confirmed therein, such period may with the approval of the Governor General be so taken into account;

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   (b)     any break in service which may be disregarded under the provisions of regulation 15 may likewise be disregarded in determining for the purpose of paragraph (a) whether one period of service immediately follows another period of service;

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   (c)     where an officer has been transferred from a pensionable office in which he or she had been confirmed to an office which is not pensionable and subsequently retires either from a pensionable office or an office which is not pensionable his or her service in the office which is not pensionable may, with the approval of the Governor General be taken into account as though it were service in the pensionable office which he or she held immediately prior to such transfer and at the pensionable emoluments which were payable to him or her at the date of transfer;

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   (d)     where a period of service in an office which is not pensionable is taken into account under this regulation, the officer shall, during that period, be deemed for the purpose of regulations 22 and 23 to be holding a pensionable office, and where that period is taken into account under paragraph (c) to have been confirmed therein. (Amended by Act 19 of 2003)

20.   Acting service

Any period during which an officer has performed only acting service in an office may be taken into account as pensionable service (subject, if the office is a non-pensionable office, to the provisions of the preceding regulation) if the period of such acting service—

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   (a)     is not taken into account as part of his or her pensionable service in other public service; and

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   (b)     is immediately preceded or followed by service in a substantive capacity in a pensionable office in the public service under the same government or authority,

and not otherwise.

21.   Service under age of 20 years or on probation or agreement

Save as otherwise provided in these Regulations, there shall not be taken into account as pensionable service—

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   (a)     any period of service while the officer was under the age of 18 years; or

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   (b)     any period of service while he or she was on probation or agreement, unless without break of service he or she is confirmed in a pensionable office in the public service.

However, any break of service which may be disregarded under the provisions of regulation 15 may likewise be disregarded in determining whether the officer is confirmed in a pensionable office without break of service.

(Amended by S.I. 14/1976)