Company sick pay

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

Hi Marie

When someone returns to work after the maternity pay period, regardless of the timeframe, they revert to full employee rights i.e. SSP or OSP depending on their entitlement.

how does it work if someone has taken full maternity leave then goes back to work for 3 days, then goes on sick leave? Do they get paid ssp, if so, from what point, do they get paid a portion of the maternity rate or the rate that they were on before taking maternity pay? The reason for sickness is said to be stress, but this person is pregnant. How on earth does this work?

Well, kind of a happy conclusion, the sick notes have arrived, SSP is being paid on time and as we are caring considerate employers and despite the Company procedures for booking holiday we have allowed the employee to top up their SSP with remaining holiday pay, thereby ensuring no finacial hardship. Aren`t we nice.

Let us know by all means.

Today is D-Day

James/Kieran I understand what you are saying, the individual concerned has still not sent in certificates and we are happy to pay the SSP on receiving them, fortunately we have a very robust MAP and i`m pretty confident that as long as we correctly follow procedures we could progress to disciplinary action, although that would be a last resort, hopefully we won`t need to but i will keep you informed of developements should you wish.

In regard to claiming back the SSP paid out, it is usually only small employers that are able to claim back any reasonable amount of SSP the calculation is :-

That you claim back the difference between 13% of the Gross NIC (all NIC ees & ers) that has been paid for all employees in the month and the SSP Paid, if this is a minus you claim this amount back from the Tax and NIC that is paid over to the HMRC each month.

www.payepeople.co.uk

Hi Drew

I am merely playing devil advocate.

James' advice is good although that maybe the least of your worries. To invoke disciplinary proceedings would be suicide, i work with employment lawyers who would tear it to shreads. Maybe you should just accept that there are many ways to skin a cat...

Drew - be aware of the employee claiming an unlawful deduction from wages here.

Hi Anita,

major changes have already been phased in and this is reflective of the SSP1 form: note the following

Here is a very important link showing changes effective from 27th of this month:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/statutory_sick_pay.asp#changes


Telling your employer you are sick

To get SSP, you should tell your employer that you are sick as soon as possible. You employer may have their own rules for when and how you tell them you are sick (please check with your employer).

However they cannot insist that you tell them:

in person
earlier than the first qualifying day or by a set time
on a special form
on a medical certificate
more than once a week during your sickness
Your employer may not pay you SSP if you tell them you are sick more than 7 days after you first became sick.

Evidence that you are sick

Your employer will ask you for evidence that you are sick. This will usually be in the form of a sick note from your doctor.

But your employer cannot ask you to provide a sick note, for the first 7 days that you are sick. They may ask you to fill in a self-certificate of their own or form SC2 which you can get from your GP's surgery, or HM Revenue & Customs website.

I also have case law but i will have to source it and get back to you.

Kieran, could you pls direct me to where I can get information on the planned EU legislation changes?

I appreciate your comments, however, as our Company does not pay `sick pay` and the employee concerned has been off for the whole month, I don`t see how a breach of contract can occur, as without a doctors certificate the absence can only be treated as unauthorised and then dealt with by the Company Disciplinary Procedures, should the employee bring in said certificates, we will authorise full payment of SSP, to cover the period, but as stated, without certificates, it is unauthorised absence.

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

Initially the employer must decide whether SSP is payable and notify the employee of the reasons for any nonpayment. On request from an employee, the employer must provide him/her or her with a written statement of:

1)the days for which SSP is being paid;
2)the amount of SSP being paid;
3)reasons for non-payment on any other days.

The employee should discuss any disputed decision with the employer first, but has the right of appeal to the local DSS insurance officer.

If HMRC rules that SSP is payable and an employer still refuses to pay, the responsibility for paying SSP can be transferred to HMRC. furthermore, and more importantly
A person who qualifies for SSP may bring a complaint for breach of contract if her/his employer fails to pay SSP. The right to SSP may be treated as a contractual term implied by statute. Where the employment has ended, the claim for breach of contract may be brought to an industrial tribunal.

The time limit for bringing the claim in the industrial tribunal is generally three months from the failure to pay SSP but the employee must comply with the relevant statutory procedures note: Following these procedures may affect the time limit.

Where the employment continues, the claim for breach of contract cannot be brought in the industrial tribunal. (However, if employment continues, a claim for unlawful deductions of wages can be made through an industrial tribunal). A claim can be brought in the county court by way of Application for Arbitration, commonly referred to as a small claims action, within six years of the breach of contract.

Have found out since post that SSP does not need to be paid until Medical Certificates received and dhould they, for any reason, be unable to produce one then they are AWOL and can be dealt with under disciplinary procedure for unauthorised absence.

They certainly can! - that's the only purpose a Med 3 is issued for! The employer is paying the SSP sort of 'on behalf of' the Gov.

Unless a) it's a self-certification period of a week or b) it may not be reasonable - like if someone has a major illness/accident their nearest and dearest probably aren't thinking too much about getting a sick note to an employer and it may be delayed. If you/your relly are hospitalised for a lengthy period it's the very devil of a job usually to even remember to ask for one - let alone find the right person.

There may be other mitigating circumstances I haven't thought of.

Hi All

Nice answer Emma, you must be in HR (Lol)!!

In short, companies have no legal requirement to pay sick pay - depending on your contract of employment, EU legislation will soon change this!!.

Drew: SSP can not be withheld for not producing a doctors note but be aware SSP will not kick in until you have been off for 4 or more days, the preceeding days are known as the qualifying period.

Can a company withhold monthly salary (SSP) if an employee has failed to provide doctors certificates?