some help with company sick pay please?

nikkita_2

Hello everyone. I am hoping that somebody can help me with a question about sick pay for my dad. Please bare with as I give you some background info. My dad works for the NHS trust as a hospital porter but is now struggling with arthritis in both knees,
probably made worse by the years upon years of walking due to his job. He chose to stay on full time after his retiring age so he gets his pension and also his pay. He really needs to go off on the sick straight away but we are not sure how this will affect his money. As an employee he is entitled to 26 weeks full pay and then 26 weeks half pay from the hospital trust. Am I correct in saying that part of the sick pay from work incudes an "element/amount" of SSP? If this is the case then as he already gets his pension would I be correct in saying that he wouldn't be entitled to the SSP part of sick pay? my thinking is that you can either get the pension or SSP but not both? Maybe I am totally wrong. Any help would be much appreciated!

bll78

Did he leave when he retired and came back? I know a lot of people do his to get their NHS pension, if so be careful that he does get 26 weeks full pay and 26 weeks half pay as this only applies after so many years continuing service ?? 5 years. I'm not sure if there's rules on breaks that are discounted, I have in my head a month is ok, but you'll need to check that out

vacationgirl

The best thing to do is check his company sick pay entitlement with the payroll office.
SSP is payable for 28 weeks and would be included in his company sick pay entitlement.

tomtontom

Is he ever going to be able to fulfil his role? If not, surely it is time to retire?

xylophone

struggling with arthritis in both knees,

Should he still be working?

HOWMUCH

Most people leave for 1 month and then come back, so they start again with the sick pay rules, so it may depend on how long he's worked since retirement.

nikkita_2

Thanks to everyone who replied. My dad continued to work after retirement age and did not leave work and re-join.As such he is on the same contract that he has always been on. He is what i would describe as "old school" and hasnt had 1 days sickness in many years. I can understand somebody asking if it might be time to leave his job and actually retire but this is not what he wants to do. He looks on this episode of ill health as being a temporary set back that he fully expects to recover from...in fact he is treating it in the same way as he would have if he had been in his 40`s! After a consultation with our GP we, as a family,think that he needs a few weeks sick leave to rest his knee/leg and we fully expect him to return to work when he feels up to it again. I simply wanted to know if he needed to inform someone that he receives his state pension before he applies for ssp. Im still not sure if i am "any the wiser" so perhaps checking with HR at his work might be the way to go.

nikkita_2

xylophone wrote: »

Should he still be working?

The way i look at it is that my dad has taken ill in the same way that any other (younger) employee might take ill.If a younger worker was unwell surely you wouldnt wonder if he/she should hand in their notice and sign on? i am assuming that you would expect them to claim SSP?? I dont think that my dad is any different because of his age..he is sick so he claims SSP until he is able to return to work! Thoughts anybody please??

nikkita_2

blondebubbles wrote: »

The criteria for SSP is -
To qualify for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) employees must:

have an employment contract
have done some work under their contract
have been sick for 4 or more days in a row (including non-working days) - known as a ‘period of incapacity for work’
earn at least £109 a week
give you the correct notice
give you proof of their illness, only after 7 days off

Age is irrelevant (as of 2006)

The employer can choose to pay more than this though, which is the case for your dad. I can't find anything that says having a pension makes a difference.

Thankyou blonde bubbles,does this mean that you think the state benefit is separate?

nikkita_2

blondebubbles wrote: »

He doesn't need to apply for SSP. If he goes off sick his employer will work out if he is entitled. His employer won't take pension into account. If you look at the criteria I posted it's about how much he is paid in the job.

Yes,i see that now. I am happy to say that he fits the criteria for SSP. Many thanks for the help x

xylophone

The way i look at it is that my dad has taken ill in the same way that any other (younger) employee might take ill.

Indeed but you describe your father as "struggling with arthritis" and seem to think that his condition is worsened by the job he does?

Will the arthritis actually get better? I thought it was a chronic condition? And if he does indeed improve, will he not relapse immediately he returns to the work that exacerbates his problem?

If he wishes to continue to work, could he not find less physically arduous employment?