What is Statutory Sick Pay?

When you fall ill and cannot work you are entitled to what is called Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). SSP is a social security benefit that is paid by employers to any and all employees who are off sick from work for three consecutive workdays or three non-consecutive workdays or more in an eight week period.

In this blog we will look into SSP in more detail to show how much you can receive and what makes you eligible for it.

How much is SSP?

As an employee, you are entitled to receive £118.75 per week for up to twenty-eight weeks. SSP is treated as standard wages so any tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will be taken off if pay is high enough.

What are the rules for SSP elgibility?

To claim SSP you will need to be classed as an employee of the company you are claiming from and earn at least £125 per week before tax and NICs.

You cannot receive SSP for periods where you would normally not be working and you cannot claim SSP for the first three days of illness. This is to avoid people using SSP to get ‘additional holiday’.

Once you have been ill for four consecutive days (including any non working days) you must let your employer know in writing by their set deadline, or seven days if no such deadline is in place.

You cannot apply for SSP if you have used up your twenty-eight weeks allowance or if you are currently claiming maternity pay.

Prolonged sickness and SSP

If you have regular periods of sickness (multiple eligible sickness periods that are less than eight weeks apart) this may be considered as linked. If a linked period runs for longer than three years, you would lose your entitlement to SSP.

If you miss more than seven days of work due to illness, you will have to provide your employer with a fit note. This must be provided by a healthcare professional such as a doctor or occupational therapist.

Sickness and holidays

If you book some holiday from work, but fall ill in that period, the time is treated as sick leave instead of holiday. You can opt to have sick days used up as holiday, but your employer must agree to this. In this case rules for sick leave can still apply.

SSP for employers

HMRC will pay an employee their SSP if the employer becomes insolvent. The employee would need to contact the Statutory Payments Dispute Team on 03000 560 630.

If you are not eligible for SSP, you may be eligible for employment and support allowance, which can be found in another blog.

If you would like any additional information regarding the above or with payroll accounting in general, please do not hesitate to contact us.