Sickness Pay Question

fluffymuffy

My friend has asked me to find out for her ...

She works for a famous Japanese electronics company. They have no unions and are not big on workers rights and so there's no one to ask there.

She's been in a lot of pain lately and has collapsed at work and been rushed into hospital a few times this year. Now she has a diagnosis and is scheduled to have an operation in a few weeks time. This should fix the problem. (Sorry to be vague - she wouldn't want to be identified).

Her employer has told her that they only allow one occasion of paid emergency leave per year - and she's had that when she was rushed into hospital. (I presume they docked her pay for the other occasions) And so they will not be paying her anything when she has her operation.

I'd have thought she was entitled to sick pay or something? She might be off work for a couple of weeks. That's a big loss of income. She's planning to try to make up the money with extra shifts - but that's a big undertaking for someone who is already unwell.

Does anyone know if she's entitled to anything?

LittleVoice

She will almost certainly be entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP). But that's not very much - currently £75.40 a week, and there are three "waiting days" when it is not paid.

Google "statutory sick pay" and you will find details.

Sounds as though she could have been entitled to that during earlier absence, depending on the length.

Company rules about anything above SSP will be in her written particulars of employment.

a7man

The contract will detail everything you need to know. Also research the SSP as LV says above.

londondulwich

Emergency leave covers things like a parent suddenly being called in by their child's school to discuss issues of violence, a close family member becoming unexpectedly hospitalised, a premature birth or the water mains springing a leak. Whether the employer pays the employee or not is discretionary there is no obligation on them to do so.

When dealing with absence from work the employer has to consider the reasons. If the absence is due to a medically certifiable sickness then the employer has to treat the employee sympathetically and considerately.

If they fail to do this and the sickness qualifies for protection under the Disability Discrimination Act, i.e. it affects day to day acts, will take longer than 12 months to heal or will never improve etc... she has a potential discrimination claim.

It goes without saying that sick pay was due on the occassions for which your friend can produce a sick note.

celtic_3

Hi All I was in receipt of SSP basic rate from employer and have been told I have a shortfall in contributions during this time . Can anyone advise me who ,if anyone should have been paying my contributions .
I am now short to receive a full contribution based pension

All help welcome thanks

LittleVoice

Hi, celtic

How long have you been receiving SSP?

Do you have gaps in your employment history over the last couple of years?

Do you work part-time and receive much above the minimum wage rate?

All the above can affect your entitlement.

LV

celtic_3

Hi I was in receipt of SSP for 28 weeks paid for by my employer .Basic rate which then was 70 pounds . I thought I was being credited for my NI Contributions but as the amount I received was under the NI threshold my employer didnt have to pay . I then went on to receive Inc Cap benefit from DWP where my NI cotributions were credited . I now have a 1year deficit and have to find 98 pounds or forfeit this year .If I had resigned due to ill health I would have gone on Inc Cap contribution based benefit and would not have this shortfall. I hope this is clear and may help someone in the same position as I now find myself in.
I always thought SSP was awarded credits for NI purposes but apparently not

Thanks in advance for any further help

CFC

londondulwich wrote: »

Emergency leave covers things like a parent suddenly being called in by their child's school to discuss issues of violence, a close family member becoming unexpectedly hospitalised, a premature birth or the water mains springing a leak. Whether the employer pays the employee or not is discretionary there is no obligation on them to do so.

When dealing with absence from work the employer has to consider the reasons. If the absence is due to a medically certifiable sickness then the employer has to treat the employee sympathetically and considerately.

If they fail to do this and the sickness qualifies for protection under the Disability Discrimination Act, i.e. it affects day to day acts, will take longer than 12 months to heal or will never improve etc... she has a potential discrimination claim.

It goes without saying that sick pay was due on the occassions for which your friend can produce a sick note.

I'm afraid that this is incorrect on every point. At the end of the day, the employer has no legal obligation to pay for time taken off work for either sickness or emergency leave. Your friend needs to refer to her contract to see if there is any element of company pay for such things. Whether the employee is disabled or not is irrelevant. It may be relevant if they are talking about dismissing the employee.

If there is no company sick pay scheme,then SSP is the only option. As for the fact that she has 'used her entitlement to emergency paid leave', she should again refer to her contract and possibly clarify with HR what their definition of emergency paid leave is. Bearing in mind the waiting time in relation to SSP,the company may have treated this as emergency leave if there is no company sick pay. Whether they should do this or not will depend on how it is worded in the contract, so he/she should speak to HR.

What Londondulwich is referring to is actually Dependent Leave. There is a legal entitlement to unpaid time off for dealing with dependents. This is not emergency leave, and it ONLY relates to dependents, not to household problems such as waterleaks.There is no obligation on the employer to allow time off for these kinds of purposes.

LittleVoice

celtic wrote: »

Hi I was in receipt of SSP for 28 weeks paid for by my employer .Basic rate which then was 70 pounds . I thought I was being credited for my NI Contributions but as the amount I received was under the NI threshold my employer didnt have to pay . I then went on to receive Inc Cap benefit from DWP where my NI cotributions were credited . I now have a 1year deficit and have to find 98 pounds or forfeit this year .If I had resigned due to ill health I would have gone on Inc Cap contribution based benefit and would not have this shortfall. I hope this is clear and may help someone in the same position as I now find myself in.
I always thought SSP was awarded credits for NI purposes but apparently not

Thanks in advance for any further help

Hello, again.

Are you nearly at state retirement age? Or so close that you can't expect to get all the years contributions that you would need for a full pension?

If either of the above is the case and paying £98 on a voluntary basis now would get you to the full pension, then it looks like a good investment in your future if you can get the funds to do so.

stazi

celtic

For the period you only got SSP,you can apply to HMRC for SSP CREDITS, and you may not need to pay any voluntary contribituons as LittleVoice suggests.

If you have recieved a form from HMRC about your NI record, it asks about periods of SSP on it. Give them the details - employer/period of SSP etc

These SSP CREDITS will then protect your NI record

celtic_3

Hi Thank you Stazi for your reply I have been going around in circles with this problem .I have been told by one person in Contributions I have to pay this ammount . But have just phoned again stating that I should have been awarded credits they now tell me to write to them with the dates I was on SSP as they dont have it on my records . Hopefully I will get this sorted once and for all .

Thanks again for help