Employment Law: the Basics

5. Sickness

5.1 You must pay statutory sick pay (SSP) to qualifying employees for up to 28 weeks).

• Employees qualify from the fourth day of incapacity onwards.
• They must earn more than the lower earnings limit of £90 a week.
• They must be aged between 16 and 65.
• You can withold SSP under certain circumstances. See Sickness issues and SSP.

5.2 Many employers pay higher levels of sick pay.

• It is common to continue with full pay for a given period, often up to six months.

5.3 If an employee's continued or repeated absences are causing problems, in certain circumstances you can end their employment.

• The employee might take you to an employment tribunal, so you must be able to prove your actions were reasonable.