Small Business Help - How does Stat. Sick Pay Work?

ace_mcgraw wrote: »

Hi,

We run a small business with 5 members of staff in total.

Since December last year, we have had one member of staff off for various lengths of time for illness. I've tried to read the government advice but I can't get to the bottom of it!

In December, they were off work for 14 days, but no periods of illness were longer than 3 days, so for this period we continued paying him full pay.

In January, he started a longer period off work, amounting to 14 weeks from start of January through till mid April. He was receiving SSP from us for this period.

He came back to work on reduced hours from Mid April through to this week, with the occasional day off so we were paying him pro rata based on his normal salary for hours worked.

He's taken this week off work again, and we were wondering how it works. At the moment (he gets paid weekly) he's unpaid for 3 days, then will get SSP for 2 days. Is this the correct way of doing it?

Going forward, am I correct in thinking that he would have to be back at work for 8 weeks to start off another 28 week period of SSP? I am assuming this period of sickness is linked to the previous one as its less than 8 months.

If anyone has any help I'd be massively grateful. The best outcome would be to have him back to work fully, but at the moment its really crippling us as we've had to get sub-contract labour to cover, and we don't really know how it all works!

Subject to any contractual agreement to the contrary, generally if you don't work you don't get paid (approved holidays in accordance with the contractual agreement excepted, of course)

SSP is paid when an employee is too ill to work.

It is not paid for any period of illness that does not last at least 4 days in a row (which can include non-working days).

So therefore no days in December were eligible for SSP in this case.

Then I understand the employee was off due to illness for 14 weeks, starting in January. That period would not be paid for the first 3 days of absence (waiting days), but would be paid for the remainder of the 14 weeks.

Statutory sick pay is paid at a rate of £94.25 per week only.
(assumes the employee normally earns at least £118 pw on average)

I understand that the employee then returned to work in mid April.
However, the employee is now sick again and unable to work.

This period of absence will be considered a linked period or SSP purposes, as it is within 8 weeks of the last time the employee received SSP. Therefore SSP is payable immediately (assuming the period of absence is at least 4 days); there are no further waiting days as they were already served in the previous linked period of absence.

SSP can only cover a maximum of 28 weeks absence, and you should provide the employee with form SSP1 by the 23rd week if the absence is expected to pass the 28 week SSP cut off (to assist the employee to claim ESA or UC instead from week 28)

SSP stops is there are linked periods of absence due to illness that lasts more than 3 years

More information available here:
https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay

https://www.gov.uk/employers-sick-pay