SSP - 28 weeks in each tax year or total?

925dancer

On new medication and my ability to process information appears to have gone on hiatus. I don't want to be left in financial shock so trying to make sure I keep on top of everything whilst sick.

So, as per the title, do I get 28 weeks SSP total for one illness? Or does it "reset" as it were in a new tax year?

The other thing is I attempted to go back in the new tax year meaning I had two periods of self-certification so technically two separate periods of sickness, how are these viewed with regards to SSP?

[Deleted User]

i think you need to check your employment contract for the answer to that

925dancer

My employee handbook only details CSP, I guess because SSP is a government stipulated employee benefit. Hence my asking here.

Torry_Quine

Does this help?

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/payerti/employee/statutory-pay/ssp-overview.htm#1

925dancer

Thanks. I'm just reading the employer help sheet.

As far as I can tell, it's 28 weeks total for one period of sickness. If you are off with the same condition with a break of less than 8 weeks between absences it is included in those 28 weeks. I think. If that makes sense.

So now I can work out roughly how many weeks I've had and how many I have left and confirm it with my employer. I had tried to ask them but they weren't very forthcoming.

chrisbur

The 28 week rule for SSP does not have to refer to the same illness. Any illness for which a PIW is formed (ie four or more days off sick during which no work is done) is linked to any previous PIW if it has a gap of eight weeks or less between them.
In order to link the illness must form a PIW so if for example you were sick and getting SSP, returned to work and six weeks later were sick for 3 days then this would not be a linked sickness as only for 3 days so for SSP purposes this would be ignored; but if you were sick for 4 days then a PIW is formed and it would link so SSP would be paid from the first qualifying day (assuming the 3 waiting days had all fallen in last PIW)
This is why it is important for employers to establish the first and last day of sickness not just the working days that are sickness as sickness on non-qualifying days (ie days not normally at work) count when checking linking of PIWs. So it may well be to some-ones advantage to be sick on any non-working day if it falls just before or after a period of sickness on working days. For example you work Monday to Friday and are sick Wednesday Thursday and Friday, if that is what you declare then no PIW is formed and nothing recorded for SSP. But if you declare sick for Wednesday to Sunday then a PIW is formed and Wednesday to Friday are recorded as waiting days and then if you are sick again within eight weeks of the Sunday and again for at least four days then you would get SSP from the first working day you were off. As the PIWS linked you would not have three waiting days to serve for the second illness.

Edit
The linking rule for SSP is phrased wrongly in the link given by Torry Quine above. PIWs link if they are separated by eight weeks or less not separated by less than eight weeks.