SSP ending??

scatz

Hi,

My wife has been off sick from work since the end of August 2012. Her pay was reduced to half pay and SSP since 24th December 2012.

She has, today, received the form SSP1 which advises her that she will no longer be receiving SSP on or after 13th March 2013.

We are confused as we thought SSP was paid for a total of 28 weeks but she would have only been receiving SSP for 12 weeks up to 13th March 2013??

Can anyone please advise if this is correct as she has been sick for more than 28 weeks but not receiving SSP for that long?

If it is correct, where do we go next and what do we have to claim for? Her employer has stated in the letter the following;

"When your entitlement to either sickness or invalidity benefit is decided by the DWP, you will receive written confirmation of the effective date and the weekly rate payable. In order for me to correctly calculate your Occupational Sick Pay, I will need to see this document, therefore I should be obliged if you would forward the notification to this office"

What exactly does this mean. Typically they have sent this letter on a weekend where she cannot contact them so we don't want to be sitting here all weekend worrying about it.

Any advice or constructive guidance would be gratefully received

princessdon

If her company paid full pay, they'd still be claiming ssp just topping it up, so it will be from the day she went sick.

Have a look at ESA if SSP has ended.

scatz

As far as we see it she is entitled to 4 months Contractual Sick for 4 months then half pay for 4 months from her employer. The SSP has only been paid [and shown on her wages] since 24th December 2012!

We are confused??

McKneff

SSP is calculated from when she first went off sick or should be, sounds as if something has gone awry somewhere.

She possibly needs to speak to the payroll dept.

scatz

McKneff wrote: »

SSP is calculated from when she first went off sick or should be, sounds as if something has gone awry somewhere.

She possibly needs to speak to the payroll dept.

As I say, she went off sick on 31st August 2012 which would tie in with the 13th March date for stopping SSP. However, her wages have only shown that she has been receiving SSP since 24th December 2012!

She is going to ring Payroll on Monday but I am trying to get some insight before then

Robbie64

scatz wrote: »

As far as we see it she is entitled to 4 months Contractual Sick for 4 months then half pay for 4 months from her employer. The SSP has only been paid [and shown on her wages] since 24th December 2012!

We are confused??

It's likely that her employer has been paying SSP from when she first went sick from work but this hasn't been showing on her payslip until her employers sick pay ended. By law the employer has to pay SSP as the minimum amount of money from the 4th day of sickness but employers can pay more than this. As her employer has paid more than the minimum required by law (SSP) then her entitlement to SSP will expire when 28 weeks have elapsed from when she first went sick.

SSP is paid alongside, not to separate to, any company sick pay.

scatz

So, if SSP was included in her 'full pay' that she was receiving why would it be paid separate to her 'half pay' that she is receiving?

When her SSP ends would she still receive her 'half pay'? She is entitled to full pay for 4 months and half pay for 4 months which would take her up to the end of April!

Really just trying to get my head around this so I can try and budget over the next few months.......

Thanks for the input so far

Robbie64

scatz wrote: »

So, if SSP was included in her 'full pay' that she was receiving why would it be paid separate to her 'half pay' that she is receiving?

When her SSP ends would she still receive her 'half pay'? She is entitled to full pay for 4 months and half pay for 4 months which would take her up to the end of April!

Really just trying to get my head around this so I can try and budget over the next few months.......

Thanks for the input so far

SSP is paid at £85.85 per week. So long as the employer provides a scheme that pays more than this per week then they don't have to formally title the payment as being SSP. I'm guessing here, but was the half pay less than that amount each week? If so then the amount would have to be made up to this amount, which may account for why your wife began to see SSP appear on her wage slip when she went onto half pay - SSP would then be the difference between her half pay and £85.85.

scatz

She is paid £133.11 half pay and £85.85 SSP!

The £133.11 is made up of contractual hours pay [halved] and weekend enhancements which haven't been halved!

Robbie64

scatz wrote: »

She is paid £133.11 half pay and £85.85 SSP!

The £133.11 is made up of contractual hours pay [halved] and weekend enhancements which haven't been halved!

In which case her employer does provide a decent sick pay scheme, compared to many. However it still means her SSP will run out after 28 weeks from when she first went sick from work. The law says that SSP has to be paid from day 4 of the absence from work, it can't be deferred until a later date, regardless of what appears on her payslip.

scatz

She works for the NHS so I should hope they provide a decent sick pay scheme

I am assuming/hoping that she'll still get the £133.11 even after the SSP has been removed then. I'll get her to look into applying for the ESA as princessdon advised above.

Thanks again for the input