Sick pay

Liz65

Hi,  I work in a well known high street stationery shop and haven’t been at work since the beginning of November due to a severe ear infection which left in hospital and back home with iv for antibiotics for 6 weeks or more depending on the infection.

I had only work for the company for 2 months before this happened and was told I am not entitled to company sick pay as I haven’t been employed for 2 years which is company policy and that I might get statutory sick pay.  I am being sent an ssp1 form by HR but I am unsure what I am supposed to do with it?  

On the gov.uk website it say I can apply for esa but my condition is hopefully not long term.

Can anyone advise me please?

Thank you

poppy12345

If your earnings we on average £123/week then your employer must pay you SSP. https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay/eligibility

Liz65

Thanks, earn £138 per week, but was told company policy is they can’t pay company sick pay but I may be able to claim statutory sick pay!

I don’t know how to claim this as there is nowhere on the gov.uk website to start a claim, and not sure if I have to wait for ssp1 form that work is sending me? Thank you for reply

anmarj

Company should be paying the statutory sick pay, but not paying anything above that.are you able to speak to HR?

chrisbur

The SSP1 form is the employer advising you that they are not going to pay you SSP.  To get SSP you do not have to make a specific claim just follow your employer's rules for notifying sickness, they should then pay the SSP unless you do not qualify.  The SSP1 form should advise you why you do not qualify for SSP.  If you feel that this reason is wrong you should first query it with your employer and if you still feel you should get SSP you can contact HMRC.
You say you earn £138 a week which is above the qualifying figure but not by a lot.  The qualifying figure is based on average earnings prior to the sickness so were your earnings reduced for any reason in the 8 weeks or so before your sickness?

If you do fail to qualify for SSP the SSP1 form will give details of claiming ESA .  The link below gives details of this and what you need to qualify for it.
https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/eligibility

Penguin_

Liz65 said:

Thanks, earn £138 per week, but was told company policy is they can’t pay company sick pay but I may be able to claim statutory sick pay!

I don’t know how to claim this as there is nowhere on the gov.uk website to start a claim, and not sure if I have to wait for ssp1 form that work is sending me? Thank you for reply

If you think the company should be paying you SSP you can contact the HMRC Statutory Payments Dispute Team on 0300 056 0630 & seek their advice. They should pay you SSP if your earnings for the 8 weeks before you went sick was over £123.00

poppy12345

Your employer pays the SSP but you'll need to provide fit notes. From the link I provided... 

How to claim

To claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), tell your employer by the deadline.

Check with your employer how you should tell them. If your employer needs something in writing you can use form SC2.

Liz65

I have sent them sc2 form and ssp1 form to fill in  and sign but was told her are sending me one by post, and I have no idea what to do with it! It’s very confusing.

poppy12345

The SSP1 is what an employer sends you when you're SSP is either due to end or you're not entitled to it. With your earnings your employer should be paying you SSP. 

Penguin_

Liz65 said:

Thanks, earn £138 per week, but was told company policy is they can’t pay company sick pay but I may be able to claim statutory sick pay!

I don’t know how to claim this as there is nowhere on the gov.uk website to start a claim, and not sure if I have to wait for ssp1 form that work is sending me? Thank you for reply

Was that for the 8 weeks immediately prior to the first day of sickness?

They will have used the payroll software to work it out & it will have likely popped up saying "Average earnings to low".

TELLIT01

The SSP1 will give the reason for them not paying SSP.  Once the OP has that they will need to look at claiming New Style ESA if their NI contributions qualify, or UC.  The OP hasn't said what their work history was prior to their current job so it's not possible to determine which benefit to claim.