Sickness Issues and SSP

2. Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

SSP is the minimum level of payment you must make to any employee unable to work because of physical or mental illness or disablement.

2.1 As long as an employee qualifies for SSP (see 3), it is paid at a flat rate of £75.40 a week.

• SSP is payable for a maximum of 28 weeks for any one period of sickness, and is subject to income tax and employees' National Insurance contributions (NICs). Employers must issue Form SSP1 by the end of the 23rd week to let the employee know when SSP will be ending.

2.2 Employees become entitled to SSP from the fourth 'qualifying day' of sickness onwards.

A qualifying day is basically a day on which the employee would normally have worked.

• In practice, the rule means that there are usually three clear 'waiting days' before SSP is payable in any 'period of incapacity for work' (PIW).
• If the employee is sick on a weekend day or a Bank Holiday - or any other non-working day - this counts towards the four-day PIW, but is not a 'qualifying day'.

2.3 Employers must keep full records of SSP.

• Records must be kept for three years.
• Failure to do so can lead to a £1,000 fine.

2.4 You can get money back from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) if the SSP you pay out exceeds a set level.

• If your SSP exceeds 13 per cent of your gross NI contributions in any month (which is unusual), you can reclaim the extra in full. You do this by deducting the amount first from your NI payments and then from the PAYE you are due to pay.