Statutory sick pay
- Statutory Sick Pay ("SSP") was introduced in 1983. It is paid by an employer to an employee who is absent from work due to sickness. SSP is paid at a flat weekly rate and may be paid for a maximum of 28 weeks.
- The legislative framework for SSP is set out in Part 11 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and Part X1 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 and associated regulations.
- The current SSP system does not provide the flexibility required for the response to managing and mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the number of people off work may increase significantly. This would present a significant financial burden on employers through increased SSP costs. The legislative changes in this Act look to provide the ability to provide relief to employers, with the primary focus being on small and medium size enterprises.
- The Act enables the Secretary of State to make regulations regarding the recovery from HMRC of additional payments of SSP by certain employers for absences related to COVID-19. The ability to recover SSP is important so that employers are supported in a period when their payments of SSP are likely to escalate. It is also necessary to ensure that employees are incentivised not to attend work when advised not to do so for reasons of health security. There are penalties for employers who make fraudulent claims or who fail to keep the records required to support a claim.
- Ordinarily, statutory sick pay is not payable for the first three days of sickness. These are commonly referred to as ‘waiting days’. This may discourage people from taking sick days in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Act therefore allows for the temporary suspension of waiting days for those employees who are absent from work due to COVID-19, should this be necessary.
- The approach to SSP needs flexibility and to align with the most up-to-date public health guidance. The Act allows the most recent version of guidance issued by Public Health England, National Health Services Scotland, Public Health Wales and the Regional Agency for Public Health and Social Well-being to be used when determining whether an employee should be deemed to be incapable of work by reason of COVID-19, for example because the employee is self-isolating. It is anticipated that the guidance will change frequently and it is necessary to ensure that employees who self-isolate in accordance with whatever is the current guidance are deemed incapable for work and entitled to SSP from day one.
