SSP Can my employer demand it back

nikknack0

I have just received a new contract at work that states if I claim SSP while of sick and then gain compensation from a third party for the accident they want the SSP back. Can they do this?

McKneff

They certainly can, if they didn't you would be in effect getting paid twice.

Compensation would presumably include loss of income, so you cant have Income And
SSP.

It's fair enough really.

pmlindyloo

According to this

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/gl27-print-version.pdf

SSP is not one of the benefits that has to be repaid.

Regardless of this, when compensation is awarded then the amount of benefits paid as a direct result of the 'accident' is deducted from your award and sent directly to them by the people/company paying the compensation ( This is assuming that you have a loss of earnings as part of your claim)

Plus, SSP paid to employees can be claimed back from the state (or most of it) so in effect the employer isn't paying the SSP themselves and suffering no loss.

Now whether the employer can put this into a contract I do not know. Well, obviously they can (!) but whether it is enforceable I bow to more knowledgeable people.

Seems very strange to me.

Just had a thought though. Perhaps it is paid back to the employer and then it is paid back to the state. Will try and find out.

HB58

I know that this is a pretty standard term when employers pay over and above SSP but i don't know whether they can claim SSP back. I do know that DWP can claw back any benefits that were claimed as a result of an incident for which someone is then paid compensation.

chrisbur

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Plus, SSP paid to employees can be claimed back from the state (or most of it) so in effect the employer isn't paying the SSP themselves and suffering no loss.

.

There is a scheme for the repayment of usually just some of the SSP paid out by employers but only for times when a large percentage of the workforce is off sick. The following is from the employers guide....

"Recovery of SSP paid under the Percentage Threshold Scheme (PTS) You may be able to recover some, or all, of the SSP you have paid. The PTS is designed to help employers who have a high proportion of their workforce sick at any one time so it is not restricted to small businesses. Unless you qualify under the PTS, you are not entitled to recover any SSP. In order to qualify for recovery under PTS, you must pay SSP payments: • in the tax month in which your employee notified you that they were sick • in the following tax month, if you are unable to pay the SSP in the tax month in which your employee notified you that they were sick • within the time limits laid down following a decision by an authorised officer of HMRC or First Tier Tribunal. You can recover some or all of the SSP paid to your employees if the total amount of SSP paid in a tax month is greater than a set percentage of your gross Class 1 NICs (employer’s and employee’s) liability for that tax month. The amount you can recover is the SSP you have paid over and above the set percentage threshold of your NICs liability. The percentage threshold is currently set at 13%. "
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nikknack0

Many thanks everyone for your replies, you have been very helpful. Many thanks to pmlindyloo for your link.