sick pay

claire23

Hi

My mum currently works part time (contract for 20.25 hrs per week frequently works more) for same employer for over 4 yrs.
She is being taken into hospital on Wed night for replacement knee operation on thurs.
Is she entitled to sick pay?
Who pays this?
How long is it paid?
My dad works full time - does this have any bearing if DHSS has to pay sick pay?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Claire

Hoddie_2

There's an official online calculator to check for exactly this. Answer the questions as though you're the employer.

http://sspcalculator.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/

claire23

Hi

Thanks for that link. Tried it and got so far on then it crashed. ah well will try again tomorrow

(does it matter that when asked for employee name I gave a made up one )

Claire

Savvy_Sue

Her employer has to pay SSP: how much depends on how many days she normally works, because she only gets it for normal working days, so if she does her hours over 3 days she'll get less than if she works them over 5, IYSWIM.

Her contract may say that the employer pays full pay for a certain period. That's worth checking.

bigbill

Her employer pays it (£70.05 wkly) after 4 days sickness

They get it back from the IR

It last for 28 weeks

It has nothing to do with how many days you work, but do your earnings average over £84 weekly over the previous 8 weeks, at 20+ hours weekly she will easily get it.

Savvy_Sue

bigbill wrote:

It has nothing to do with how many days you work,

YES IT DOES! You are only paid for Qualifying Days, ie the days you work under your contract, excluding the first 3 which are Waiting Days.

If you regularly work more days than you are contracted to work, it can be calculated on the number of days you've worked over the last 8 weeks, which might be to the OP's mother's advantage.

But if she doesn't normally work a five day week, then she will not get the full £70+.

I cannot get the calculator to work either, but I've done payroll in the past and I've had discussions recently with our Payroll people, and they always want to know whether staff are working a five day week or not because it DOES affect SSP.

Hoddie_2

Generally, to qualify for SSP you must be:

• Sick for at least 4 or more days in a row (including weekends and bank holidays).
• Earn, before tax and National Insurance an average of £84.00 a week.

If the answer to both is yes, they will normally be due £70.05/week regardless of the number of days normally worked.

There are other conditions, such as notifying the employer about the sickness in good time (7 days) and providing evidence of sickness if the period lasts for more than 7 days (some employers allow self-certification but most will request a doctor's sick note).

If the employer refuses to pay (either rightly or wrongly) they should provide form SSP1. If you disagree with the decision not to pay, you can appeal by contacting HM Revenue & Customs. If you agree with the decision (SSP1 will say why they cannot pay), contact the Social Security office who may pay Incapacity Benefit.

claire23

Hoddie wrote:

There are other conditions, such as notifying the employer about the sickness in good time (7 days) and providing evidence of sickness if the period lasts for more than 7 days (some employers allow self-certification but most will request a doctor's sick note).

Thanks for all the replies!

Is the above rule strict? She only got the phone call about the knee op on Fri night, informed her immediate boss on Sat morn, but will be unable to work from thursday (being admitted on Wed night).

Thanks

Claire

Hoddie_2

Generally no, the employer has discretion to accept late notice providing they agree the reason why notice was late. Just to be clear, the employer ideally needs to be informed as soon after the start of the sickness period as possible. As they've already been informed there shouldn't be a problem.

Normally being in hospital does not affect your entitlement to SSP, however as this is a pre-planned visit it might be worth checking with the local social security office. Perhaps the National Insurance Contributions Office might also be able to advise (0845 302 1479).

hazelbunny

Savvy_Sue wrote:

YES IT DOES! You are only paid for Qualifying Days, ie the days you work under your contract, excluding the first 3 which are Waiting Days.

If you regularly work more days than you are contracted to work, it can be calculated on the number of days you've worked over the last 8 weeks, which might be to the OP's mother's advantage.

But if she doesn't normally work a five day week, then she will not get the full £70+.

I cannot get the calculator to work either, but I've done payroll in the past and I've had discussions recently with our Payroll people, and they always want to know whether staff are working a five day week or not because it DOES affect SSP.

NO IT DOSEN'T. If you have 5 qualifying days you are paid approx£14 per day if you work 3 days you will be paid approx £23 per day. So it all adds up to £70.05 per week regardless of days worked.

bigbill

If you worked 7 weeks at £10 and one week at £610 you would get SSP at £70.05 for up to 28 weeks as your average over the previous 8 weeks would be over £84 weekly, 7 x £10 = £70 + £610 = £680 divided by 8 = £85 weekly on average.