Statutory sick pay

All employers are obliged to pay Statutory Sick Pay to eligible employees for periods of absence of four or more days up to a total of 28 weeks in one period of incapacity for work (PIW).

Eligibility for sick pay

An employee must meet all of the following conditions to be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP):

They must be an employee and have done some work under their employment contract before going off sick
The days they're off sick must make up part of a 'period of incapacity for work
The days they receive SSP must be qualifying days - these are days they normally work
Their earnings must be at least as much as the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance contributions. This is £97 a week for 2010-11.
They can't have already received the maximum amount of SSP for the PIW - or for a series of linked PIWs (28 weeks)
They must have notified the employer about their sickness - either within the employer’s own time limit or within seven days
They must give evidence of their incapacity

Obligations for employers

Statutory Sick Pay is liable for tax and national insurance contributions

Their notification requirements must conform to DSS requirements
Proper records must be kept for at least three years after the existing tax year in which the payments were made. Records should detail absences lasting four or more days, payments and documentation to enable employees who are not entitled to this payment or whose entitlement has ended, to transfer to State Sickness Benefit.

Reimbursement for employers

Some of the Statutory Sick Payment may be recoverable if the employer qualifies under the percentage threshold scheme: if the employer's total gross Class 1 National Insurance Contribution (the combined contributions of employer and employee) multiplied by 13 per cent is less than the total amount of Statutory Sick Pay paid out, then employers can reclaim the difference.

Employers can supplement an employee's basic entitlement to Statutory Sick Pay.