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Employer Handbook for Statutory Sick Pay
How to work out Average Weekly Earnings (AWE)
To get SSP an employee must have AWE of at least £97.00 in the period of at least eight weeks before the first day they are off work sick.
To work out AWE you must:
- always use the relevant period – you can work it out using the checksheet below
- only include earnings paid in the relevant period.
Checksheet for weekly paid employees
To work out AWE for employees paid weekly or in multiples of a week, for example weekly, fortnightly,three weekly or other multiple weekly
1. Note first day of the PIW.
2. Find the date of the last normal payday before the first day your employee was sick. This is the last day of the relevant period.
3. Count back to the payday that is at least eight weeks before the date in 2and come forward one day, for example 25 August becomes 26 August.This is the first day of the relevant period.
4. Add together all the earnings paid between the dates in 3 and 2 (inclusive).
5. Divide the figure in 4 by the number of whole weeks in the relevant period.
(Don’t round up or down to whole pence, use the unrounded figure to decide if the employee’s average earnings are high enough.)££//////
Monthly paid employees – how to work out Average Weekly Earnings (AWE)
To work out AWE you must:
- convert monthly pay into an average weekly amount
- always use the relevant period – you can work it out using the checksheet below
- only include earnings paid in the relevant period.
Checksheet for monthly paid employees
To work out AWE for employees paid monthly
1. Find the date of the last normal payday before the first day your employee was sick. This is the last day of the relevant period.
2. Find the date of the payday at least eight weeks back from the date in 1 and come forward one day, for example if the payday is 22 June, enter 23 June. This is the first day of the relevant period.
3. Add together all the earnings paid between the dates at 2 and 1 (inclusive).
4. Work out how many whole months there are between the dates in 2 and 1(inclusive). If there isn’t a whole number of months see Rounding to the nearest whole month.
5. Divide the figure in 3 by the whole months in 4.
6. Multiply the figure in 5 by 12.
7. Divide the figure in 6 by 52.
(Don’t round up or down to whole pence, use the unrounded figure to decide if the employee’s average earnings are high enough.)££££///
Employees not paid in a regular pay pattern
If you do not pay your employees in a regular pay pattern use the checksheet below to work out their AWE.
If you do not pay your employees for all weeks because they did not work for you in every week, go to ‘Agency and short contract workers – weekly paid' below and follow that method to calculate their AWE.
Checksheet for employees not paid in a regular pay pattern
To work out AWE if you do not pay your employees in a regular pay pattern
Note the first day of the employee’s PIW
1. Find the date of the last normal payday before the first day your employee is sick. This is the last day of the relevant period.
2. Find the date of the payday at least eight weeks before the date in 1 and go forward one day, for example, 15 May becomes 16 May. This is the first day of the relevant period.
3. Add together all earnings paid between the dates in 2 and 1 (inclusive).
4. Work out the number of days between the dates in 3 and 1 (inclusive).
5. Divide the figure in 3 by the number of days in 4.
6. Multiply the figure in 5 by 7.
(Don’t round up or down to whole pence, use the unrounded figure to decide if the employee’s average earnings are high enough.)£££//////
Weekly paid employee gets regular payment earlier or later than normal with more or less than eight weeks pay in the relevant period
This usually happens when, for example, you pay a week’s wages early because of a holiday.
Follow Steps 1 to 4 of the weekly checksheet and divide the figure in Step 4 by the number of weeks wages actually paid.
It is important that the following provision is only applied to regular payments of earnings paid other than on their normal date.
Weekly paid employee without a whole number of weeks in the relevant period
This usually happens when you decide to bring your employee’s normal payday forward because of Bank Holidays at Easter, Christmas or when you pay them early or late, such as when you withhold pay for late notification of sick absence and pay it later.
Follow Steps 1 to 4 of the weekly checksheet, divide the figure in Step 4 by the number of weeks' wages actually paid.
Agency and short contract workers –weekly paid
Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) for agency workers and short contract workers are calculated in exactly the same way as other employees using the last eight weeks payments.
Not received eight weeks payments
If there are not enough paydays in a contract to work out the relevant period to calculate the Average Weekly Earnings (AWE), follow Steps 1 to 4 of the weekly checksheet and divide the figure in Step 4 by the number of contracted weeks.
No earnings yet paid
Where the employee or worker falls sick before they have had their first payday, you should use their contractual earnings to see if they earn enough to get SSP. Work out how much a week they will earn based on the due rate of pay for the job and the expected contractual hours. If their AWE will be £97.00 or more they will qualify.
Educational term-time workers
Employees of educational establishments including teachers, classroom assistants, college lecturers and child nursery workers may or may not be contracted to work outside of term-times. There are some examples of how to work out AWE for these workers on the CD-ROM.
Directors
Paid contractually
If the director is contractually paid a regular salary calculate their Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) like any other employee by using these checksheets.
Paid both contractually and by formal vote
A director who is paid contractually may also be paid a bonus or fees by a formal vote. You must still calculate their AWE using these checksheets. You should only include the monies voted by formal vote if the date of the vote falls in the relevant period.
Directors paid only by a formal vote
If the director is paid only by a formal vote calculate their AWE using the checksheet below. A formal vote usually takes place at the company’s Annual General Meeting and is agreed in the company minutes. Monies drawn in anticipation of a formal vote Some directors may regularly draw money from the business in anticipation of a formal vote. Do not include this money when working out the director’s AWE, even if NICs were deducted at the time they were paid.
Checksheet for directors paid only by formal vote
To work out AWE for directors paid only by a formal vote
Note the first day of the employee’s PIW
1. Find the date of the last normal payday before the first day your director was sick. (This is the date of the last formal vote.) This is the last day of the relevant period.
2. Count back to the payday at least eight weeks from the date at 1 until the date of the previous formal vote and go forward one day, for example,15 May becomes 16 May. This is the first day of the relevant period.
3. Add together the money voted and any other payments of earnings between the dates in 2 and 1 (inclusive).
(Do not include any money drawn in anticipation of the vote.)
4. Work out how many whole months there are between the dates in2 and 1 (inclusive). If there isn’t a whole number of months see ‘Rounding to the nearest whole month’.
5. Divide the figure in 3 by the number of whole months in 4.
6. Multiply the figure in 5 by 12.
7. Divide the figure in 6 by 52.
(Don’t round up or down to whole pence, use the unrounded figure to decide if the director’s average earnings are high enough.)££££//////
© Crown copyright 2009
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