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 If an employee falls ill, do they qualify for Statutory Sick Pay? How long do you have to pay it for? How is it calculated? For the answers to these questions and more.
It’s a simple fact of life that sometimes, your employees won’t be able to work for a period of time because they are ill. For the purposes of this article, we’re not referring to a day in bed with a cold, but rather to an illness that keeps an employee off work for a sustained amount of time.
Essentially, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is an earnings replacement for employees who are off work due to an illness, and it’s the responsibility of employers to pay SSP to said employees providing they meet certain qualifying criteria, and it’s up to you to decide if SSP is payable or not. Again, providing they meet the qualifying criteria, this also applies to part-time, temporary, agency and casual employees.
In order to qualify, employees must fulfil ALL the following conditions –
- The employee must have notified you of their sickness within your own time limits or, if you haven't informed them in advance of any time limits, no later than seven days after the first day of sickness
- The employee be employed by you and have done some work for you under their contract
- The employee must 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)
- The employee must have average weekly earnings equal to or more than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contribution (NIC) purposes - £95 a week in 2009-10 - regardless of whether or not they are required to pay NICs.
- The employee must 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
It’s important to note that in any one PIW, Statutory Sick Pay is payable to an employee for a maximum of 28 weeks.
When to start and when to stop paying SSP can potentially get quite confusing, so it’s always beneficial to speak to an expert regarding the legal and HR implications, but there are a few pointers we can give you to get yourself familiar with what to do should this eventuality present itself.
Firstly, and within reasonable limits, you can set your own rules about how employees inform you that they’re sick. Initially, the employee should call before a certain time of the day, but then moving forward, they will usually be able to self-certify for a week, and beyond that, a doctor’s note will be needed.
Linking – If a PIW starts within eight weeks of the end of a previous PIW, the periods are linked and count as one period of sickness.
Waiting Days – The first three qualifying days in a PIW are called waiting days (WDs). SSP is not payable for WDs. Where PIWs are linked, and all three WDs have been served in the first PIW, there will be no WDs in any later linked spells of sickness.
Qualifying Days – These are the employee's contractual or normal working days, unless other days have been agreed with the workforce. SSP is paid for each qualifying day after the waiting days.
Stopping Payment – SSP usually stops once an employee returns to work. Calculate if any SSP is still owing to them for previous days of sickness - pay any outstanding money on their next normal pay day.
It goes without saying that as an employer, you’ll need to keep detailed records of sickness absence and amounts paid so that the HMRC can ensure your employees are receiving their full entitlement and there are a variety of forms and guides issued by HMRC that will help you.
For more information and advice on Statutory Sick Pay and for your upcoming summer recruitment needs, please call the specialists at Forties People on 020 7329 4044, or visit us online at www.fortiespeople.com.
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