Help with SSP

[Hans Gruber]

I have an employee who will be off for a week or so due to an operation. They work 2 days per week on Monday and Thursday. The operation is next Thu and they say will be off 26th & 30th Sep and 3rd Oct (may end up being longer depending on healing). They meet the eligibility criteria on GOV website.

I'm trying to get my head around SSP. I assume waiting days start on Thu 26th, so Sun 29th will be 1st qualifying day.

I read that SSP runs Sun - Sat, so for the last week if they come back to work on Thu would I pay 5/7 x £116.75 = £83.39 in SSP, or 1/2 x £116.75 = £58.38, or something else?

Many thanks for your help.

 

[Newchodge]

Do you have a formal agreement with them about what is a qualifying day? Only qualifying days count as waithing days.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Do you have a formal agreement with them about what is a qualifying day? Only qualifying days count as waithing days.

Thank you for your reply. Contract is as follows:

11 Sickness or injury

11.1 If the Employee is absent from work due to sickness or injury, the Employee must inform [their manager] of the reason and likely length of their absence as soon as possible and by 8.00am of the first day of absence.

11.2 If the Employee is absent for less than seven calendar days, the Employee must complete the Employer’s self-certification form on their return to work.

11.3 If the Employee is absent from work for seven calendar days or more, the Employee must provide the Employer with a Fit Note from their GP covering any subsequent period of absence.

11. 4 The Employer reserves the right to require the Employee to provide a Fit Note and/or to undergo a medical examination at any stage during or following any period of sickness absence.

11.5 The Employer operates the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) scheme and the Employee is required to co-operate in the maintenance of necessary records and assessing entitlement under the scheme. For the purposes of calculating the Employee’s entitlement to SSP, qualifying days are those days on which the Employee is normally required to work.

11.6 The Employee is not entitled to any sick pay in addition to statutory sick pay. Any Payments made to the Employee by the Employer in respect of any period of absence due to sickness or injury in addition to statutory sick pay will be paid at the absolute discretion of the employer only and shall be deemed to be inclusive of any SSP entitlement.

So it would appear qualifying days are Mon and Thu? So would it require a Mon, Thu, Mon off sick before being due SSP on the Thu?

 

[Newchodge]

Thank you for your reply. Contract is as follows:


So it would appear qualifying days are Mon and Thu? So would it require a Mon, Thu, Mon off sick before being due SSP on the Thu?

Yes. I assume you are running your own payroll. Pleae be aware that it can be very complex.

 

[numbersrule]

Hi Hans
Disclaimer: My Diploma in Payroll Management Exam is not until next month.

Having said that, I believe further points to consider are:
Have you checked that there is no Linked Period of Incapacity for Work? I ask in case there was a previous PIW within the previous 8 weeks?
If not, I believe your second calculation of £116.75/2=£58.38 would be correct for Monday 7th October as the first day SSP would be due.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Many thanks for the replies. Can I please ask another question? The employee is likely to be off for 5 days in total (the were originally going to be off for 3). If they stick to this SSP is easy as it's just £116.75 for the last 2 days.

They originally asked to take the leave as holiday. I was wondering, can I pay holiday for the 3 waiting days and still pay SSP for the last 2 days (total 5 days off), or would there still need to be waiting days after taking the holiday?

 

[Newchodge]

Many thanks for the replies. Can I please ask another question? The employee is likely to be off for 5 days in total (the were originally going to be off for 3). If they stick to this SSP is easy as it's just £116.75 for the last 2 days.

They originally asked to take the leave as holiday. I was wondering, can I pay holiday for the 3 waiting days and still pay SSP for the last 2 days (total 5 days off), or would there still need to be waiting days after taking the holiday?

No.

Actually, as the employer you can pay whatever you want to pay, as you cannot reclaim it from the government.