ESA and SSP enhancement

Strummer22

Hi, 

My wife is employed as a director of her own business (a community interest company, CIC). In April she was diagnosed with breast cancer and immediately started claiming SSP to focus on her health. Prior to this she was paying herself for 16 hours p/w at minimum wage. Her SSP ends now-ish and as she has just started chemotherapy, she is about to apply for new-style ESA.

There are three other directors and the business has continued in her absence. The business made a profit this year (as a CIC it can't pay this out as dividends) and after capital investment still has a few thousand pounds spare. The directors are considering backdating a SSP enhancement for my wife up to the amount she was previously paying herself, which would be a lump sum of about £2,000 to be paid in her October pay period. The company's financial year runs 1 Nov - 31 Oct. 

Two questions: 
1. Would this in any way affect her ESA claim? I understand you can get ESA after you've claimed SSP for 28 weeks. Does this still apply if the company you work for has a more generous sick pay policy? 
2. If the answer to 1. is that it would affect her ESA claim, i.e. the DWP might reject her claim if she 'earned' more than SSP level in the last 28 weeks even though this was enhanced sick pay, is there anything we can do about this? Can it be labelled on her payslip as 'SSP enhancement' or similar to show that she was indeed sick during this period, now working? Would that even be taken into account in assessing her claim?

Thanks in advance! 

Robbie64

For ESA purposes, all that is important is that an amount equivalent to SSP is paid. The business is free to choose whether it pays an additional amount (usually referred to as company sick pay) on top of SSP. The company is even free to choose to top up her wages after SSP ends and ESA is in payment.

A number of companies pay full pay for a certain amount of time. Although it happens less these days (many businesses pay only SSP while sick and when SSP stops the employee has to claim ESA or even Universal Credit) some companies may have sick pay schemes that pay full wages for 6 months, 1 year, 2 years etc. This can continue when SSP ends.

huckster

All ESA are concerned about 
1) Not currently working and has a fit note
2) SSP1 form confirming date SSP ended  SSP must have ended
3) has paid enough NI contributions during the last two tax years 22/23 & 23/24

Strummer22

Thanks Robbie & Huckster - no impact on ESA then