Your Guide to Statutory Sick Pay
Statutory Sick Pay, often referred to as SSP, is a way of replacing the earnings a sick employee would otherwise have received. As an employer, you must pay at least SSP to employees who meet all the qualifying criteria. If you choose to have your own occupational sick pay scheme, remember that you can pay the same as or more than SSP but not less and that you have to pay them for the same days that they would otherwise have been entitled to SSP.
What are the qualifying criteria/conditions?
Your employee must:
- have notified you of their sickness within your time limits (contained in your sickness absence policy) or, if you haven't informed them in advance of any time limits, no later than seven days after the first day of sickness
- be employed by you and have done some work for you under their contract
- be sick for four or more days in a row, including weekends and bank holidays - this is known as the period of incapacity for work (PIW)
- have average weekly earnings equal to or more than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contribution (NIC) purposes - £97 a week in 2010-11
- be an employed earner, i.e. have earnings on which you are liable to pay employer's Class 1 NICs, or would be liable to pay but for their age or level of earnings
Part-time, temporary, agency or casual workers may also be entitled to SSP, if they satisfy all of the qualifying conditions for payment.
Key features of SSP
The main features of the SSP scheme are:
- The first three days of incapacity are unpaid (called 'waiting days').
- SSP is paid for up to 28 weeks
- Once SSP is exhausted, an employee will normally transfer onto benefits paid directly by the Government
- If two periods of sickness are separated by less than eight weeks (56 days) then they are linked and the employee need not serve the waiting days again.
How much?
From 3rd April 2011, the weekly rate of SSP is £81.60.
For more information about SSP or any other question relating to employee sickness, contact us today.
