Although we are currently enjoying the Indian Summer we will, at some point, start experiencing cooler weather. With this, it is common to have staff off work with coughs, colds, sniffles and maybe even the flu so this month we are blogging about sick pay.
There are two types of Sick Pay and they are often referred to as Statutory Sick Pay and Company Sick Pay.
Here is a quick guide to sick pay.
Statutory Sick Pay
If an employee is unwell and too sick to work, they could be entitled to receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). As an employer, it is your legal obligation to pay this to your employee.
There are certain criteria which need to be met for an employee to receive SSP, including: –
- They must be classed as an employee and must have carried out some work for you;
- They must have been ill for at least four days in a row (including non-working days);
- They must earn an average of at least £116 per week;
- They must tell you that they are sick before the qualifying deadline – or within seven days if they do not have one.
Agency and casual workers, part-time staff and staff on fixed-term contracts are also entitled to receive SSP (as long as the above criteria are met).
Of course, there are exceptions to the above. An employee will not qualify for SSP if: –
- They have received the maximum amount of SSP (28 weeks) in any one year;
- They are receiving Statutory Maternity Pay.
An employee will still qualify for SSP if they started working for you recently but have not yet received eight weeks’ pay.
If your employee has regular periods of sickness, these may be classed as ‘linked’. In these situations, the periods of sickness should: –
- Last for four or more days each;
- Be eight weeks or less apart.
However, the employee will not be eligible to receive SSP if they have a continuous series of linked periods that last for more than three years.
Your employee is only required to provide a doctor’s fit note (previously called a sick note) if they are off sick for more than seven days in a row (including non-working days).
Statutory Sick Pay is paid at a rate of £92.05 a week (as at October 2018), for up to 28 weeks in any one year. As an employer, you cannot pay less than this amount. However, you can pay more if you have a Company Sick Pay Policy (see below).
SSP is payable from the fourth ‘qualifying day’ (the day on which the employee is normally required to work). The first three qualifying days are called ‘waiting days’. SSP is not normally paid for the first 3 qualifying days unless the employee has been off sick and getting SSP within the last 8 weeks. Payment of SSP stops when the employee returns to work.
Remember that the employee’s period of sick leave does not stop if they are on annual leave/holiday during their illness.
If the employee has worked for just one minute before going home as sick, you cannot count that day as a sick day. If the employee works a shift that ends the day after it started and becomes sick during the shift or after it has finished, the second day will count as a sick day.
It is entirely up to you how you record your employees’ sickness absence. However, remember that HMRC may need to review your records if there is any future dispute over the payment of SSP for a particular employee.
You can no longer claim back SSP for sick leave from the Government.
Company Sick Pay / Contractual Sick Pay
Some companies have a Company Sick Pay Policy, sometimes called a Contractual Sick Pay Policy. In these cases, the employee’s Contract of Employment must state what the company’s sick pay policy is and how much they will be paid.
For example, the employee’s contract may include provision for payment of the employee’s normal salary in circumstances when they are off sick. Alternatively, the Contract of Employment might state that the employee will receive their normal salary less the amount of statutory sick pay.
If under the terms of the employee’s contract, contractual sick pay is not payable at all, the employee will only be entitled to receive SSP.
Why monitor sickness
Monitoring sickness can help you to identify trends. It may be that your staff member is off sick every Friday or at the end of the month.
You might find that sickness levels are related to stress or that the staff member has a disability.
By monitoring sickness levels you can reduce absences and help your staff.
If you would like more information about matters relating to Employment Law or HR, please contact us at www.orchardemploymentlaw.co.uk