News

18 March 2020

COVID-19 – Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

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During this difficult time for many small businesses, our payroll department will assist all we can to help with any queries in regards to Statutory Sick Pay. We are monitoring the government announcements hourly to ensure we are delivering all of the available information to our clients.

The government have stated that they are supporting businesses with fewer than 250 employees. Please see below the key points in relation to SSP –

  • Statutory Sick Pay is payable to any employee who is self-isolating and will be recoverable for up to 14 days only from the government. No GP fit note is required for the 14 days, however the employers should maintain records of staff absences. In this instance SSP is payable from day 1 as opposed to day 4.
  • We do not yet know how the SSP is recoverable and how this will be processed, but we are checking daily and will keep everybody informed.
  • If the employee has to self-isolate for longer than 14 days, at present it is not recoverable from the government but you still have a duty as an employer to pay this. This would then be treated as the normal sick pay rules for up to 28 weeks.
  • If an employer needs to close down their business for a short time, unless it is stated in your employees contract, you would be eligible to pay them full pay. This may change if the country is on lockdown, as they may state we are all then in self-isolation. But at present, you would have to pay them full pay.
  • If an employee needs to take time off to look after a dependant, the pay agreement would be discussed between the employer and employee, but the employer does not have to pay the member of staff. This would be treated as unpaid leave.
  • If an employee is in a situation where they can work from home, they would still be entitled to full pay.

If you are an employee or an employer, please follow the link to ACAS for more advice on how to deal with Coronavirus, https://www.acas.org.uk/coronavirus.

We have put together other key points, on how the government are supporting businesses affected by Coronavirus. Please follow the link, https://www.ssmith-accountants.co.uk/covid-19-small-business-support/.

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