Employer Handbook for Statutory Sick Pay

Keeping records

What records you must keep

All records must be kept for at least three years after the end of the tax year to which they relate.

You must keep:

• all dates of employee sickness lasting four or more days in a row, including for employees who are under16 years old
• a record of the payment dates and the amount paid during each PIW
• the date the pay period began
• a record of any unpaid SSP with reasons
• form SSP2 Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) record sheet. This is available on the Employer CD-ROM or from the Orderline 08457 646 646 to help you keep a record of your payments.

Recording payments of SSP

You must record all payments of SSP made to your employee on their P11 or P12 Deductions Working Sheet or your own computerised equivalent.

For each week or month that you pay SSP to your employee and also make a recovery, complete column 1g on form P11 Deductions Working Sheet or your own computerised equivalent, and include the SSP paid in the gross pay in column 2.

You must record the amount of SSP recovered in column 5 of your form P32 Employment Payment Record or equivalent record.

Bear in mind that the period for calculating the recovery of SSP runs from the 6th of one month to the 5th of the next month. This means that the monthly NICs and SSP totals recorded on the P11 and P32 may not be the same as the monthly totals needed to calculate the recovery of SSP under PTS.

In order to ensure that you calculate your recovery correctly you can use the SSP calculator on the Employer CD-ROM or the calculator on the Internet at www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/ssp.htm There is also an electronic SSP2 (SSP record sheet) on the Employer CD-ROM which will help you to keep a record of the amounts of SSP paid to your employees.

At the end of the tax year you must complete and file an Employer Annual Return (P35 and P14s).

On your form P35 enter the amount of SSP you have recovered. On your forms P14 you can either record:

• the amount of SSP paid to the employee in those tax months for which an amount has been recovered under the Percentage Threshold Scheme, or
• the amount of SSP paid in all tax months not just the tax months where you made a recovery.

For more information go to Employer Helpbook E10 Finishing the tax year up to 5 April 2010 and E11 Starting the tax year from 6 April 2010 on the Employer CD-ROM or go to www.hmrc.gov.uk/payee/onlinefiling.htm

SSP payments and/or recovery covering more than one tax year

You cannot make a recovery in one tax year that relates to SSP payments made in a previous tax year. For more information see Recovery of SSP paid in a previous tax year.

Where payments and/or recovery of SSP start in one tax year and end in a later tax year, you should only record the payments and/or recovery that relates to that tax year on your end of year records. This is to ensure that your records balance with those held by your accounts Office.

Employers who choose to opt out

Employers who have chosen to opt out of fully operating the SSP Scheme in favour of their own Occupational Sick Pay (OSP) scheme must be able to show records of:

• all dates of employee sickness lasting four or more day sin a row, and
• all payments of earnings or Occupational Sick Pay (OSP)you make during each PIW, for example your normal pay or OSP records so that HMRC can check that your employees are receiving their proper SSP entitlement or the equivalent in earnings.

Visits from HMRC

From time to time, our officers visit employers to see if their payroll is running smoothly. If we call on you we will ask to see your SSP and/or wage records, sick absences and other related documents. If you are an employer who has opted out of fully operating the SSP Scheme, we will ask to see your wage records, occupational sick records,sick absence records and other related documents.

Errors on returns and documents

You need to be aware that there is a penalty regime for errors on returns and documents.

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