Employer / SSP issues

LucasWAG

Hi - I hope someone is able to provide some clarification on eligibility for SSP as to me it looks like my partners employers are making mistakes meaning she hasn't been paid a few weeks SSP that I feel should be covered.

She works for as a cleaner part-time, 13.15 hours per week minimum wage. She gets paid fortnightly. This would mean weekly she would earn pennies short of £125 per week - Over the SSP threshold of £123 per week requirement by £1-2.

In mid-September she had a medical emergency which required staying in hospital a few days. This was reported to her employer by her next working shift which would have been 16th September.

She had a few weeks off work recuperation but found she wasn't paid for specific week(s). Her manager assured her he did send it to their payroll department so it should have been paid.

We gave a week to resolve but the funds did not drop into her bank account, nor appear on the next payslip. Eventually it turns out payroll say she's not eligible for SSP because she didn't meet the threshold for this - I challenged this back advising that she earns £2 more than SSP requires.

They've finally come back saying to be eligible for SSP, you have to earn on average £123 over 8 weeks. They gave a breakdown of the 8 weeks - Outcome saying she earned £122 over 8 weeks thus not eligible.

I only happened to glance at the date they initiated the 8 weeks though - They said her absence started 26th September and thus the 8 weeks where between 18th September-7th August. This was technically incorrect and it's impacted the 8 weeks threshold.

Her from her absence on 16th September should have started from 4th September-28th July. The absolute kicker from this 8 week period was though that she had 1-2 days off because our baby was ill, so instead of getting £251 for that fortnight, she only received £204 - When you include the PENCE it is literally 10 PENCE short of an average of £123 over that 8 weeks. Can it really be accepted that being 10 pence short leads you to being refused SSP and thus losing hundreds of pounds in income?

16th September Absence reported

Pay 1 - £275.50 - 4th September fortnight

Pay 2 - £251.75 - 21st August fortnight

Pay 3 - £251.75 - 7th August fortnight

Pay 4 - £204.25 - 28th July fortnight

Total - £122.90 8 week average

liz_bartun

So are you saying that if they'd used the 8 week period you think they should have done, she'd still be short of the £123 weekly average?

Is so then I'm afraid that yes, that 10p does mean the difference between qualifying for SSP and not. 

How old is your baby? Did your partner receive SMP from her employer and (technically) would she still be within the maternity pay period?

chrisbur

The period over which the average should be calculated starts with the last payday before the first day if sickness and then uses that payday and the three before it in the case of fortnightly paid.  So if first day of sickness was 4 sept you need to go back to the last payday before that and the three before that payday.  SSP is always calculated on paydays.
If this gives an entitlement to SSP and it is not paid you need to contact HMRC.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/statutory-payment-dispute-team

If you still did not qualify then you should have been given a form SSP1 which would advise why you did not qualify and could be used to claim a different benefit which you might qualify for as it has different qualifying rules.   
Details of SSP1 which includes details of various reasons (including the maternity reason) can be seen here....
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1104889/ssp1-interactive.pdf
If no form issued would suggest again contacting HMRC as above. 

Edit
If you want to check SMP this calculator is useful.  It takes you through it step by step.
https://www.gov.uk/maternity-paternity-calculator

sheramber

LucasWAG said:

Hi - I hope someone is able to provide some clarification on eligibility for SSP as to me it looks like my partners employers are making mistakes meaning she hasn't been paid a few weeks SSP that I feel should be covered.

She works for as a cleaner part-time, 13.15 hours per week minimum wage. She gets paid fortnightly. This would mean weekly she would earn pennies short of £125 per week - Over the SSP threshold of £123 per week requirement by £1-2.

In mid-September she had a medical emergency which required staying in hospital a few days. This was reported to her employer by her next working shift which would have been 16th September.

She had a few weeks off work recuperation but found she wasn't paid for specific week(s). Her manager assured her he did send it to their payroll department so it should have been paid.

We gave a week to resolve but the funds did not drop into her bank account, nor appear on the next payslip. Eventually it turns out payroll say she's not eligible for SSP because she didn't meet the threshold for this - I challenged this back advising that she earns £2 more than SSP requires.

They've finally come back saying to be eligible for SSP, you have to earn on average £123 over 8 weeks. They gave a breakdown of the 8 weeks - Outcome saying she earned £122 over 8 weeks thus not eligible.

I only happened to glance at the date they initiated the 8 weeks though - They said her absence started 26th September and thus the 8 weeks where between 18th September-7th August. This was technically incorrect and it's impacted the 8 weeks threshold.

Her from her absence on 16th September should have started from 4th September-28th July. The absolute kicker from this 8 week period was though that she had 1-2 days off because our baby was ill, so instead of getting £251 for that fortnight, she only received £204 - When you include the PENCE it is literally 10 PENCE short of an average of £123 over that 8 weeks. Can it really be accepted that being 10 pence short leads you to being refused SSP and thus losing hundreds of pounds in income?

16th September Absence reported

Pay 1 - £275.50 - 4th September fortnight

Pay 2 - £251.75 - 21st August fortnight

Pay 3 - £251.75 - 7th August fortnight

Pay 4 - £204.25 - 28th July fortnight

Total - £122.90 8 week average

SSP is not paid for the first 4 days of absence.

Do her shifts mean 26 September is the 5 th day?

chrisbur

"SSP is not paid for the first 4 days of absence." There is a bit of confusion here regarding SSP. Four consecutive days of sickness when no work is done (All days count for this) are required to form a PIW so that SSP can be considered. The first three qualifying days ( Usually these are days normally worked) are considered waiting days and no payment is made for them, unless there are any linking PIWs in the previous eight weeks then rules are a bit different.