Understand Statutory Sick Pay

How much to pay

If your employee satisfies the qualifying conditions for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) - work out how much SSP is due. This should be paid on the same day that you would normally pay them their wages for the same period. See the page in this guide: what is Statutory Sick Pay and who gets it?

SSP is paid at a daily rate. Only qualifying days (QDs) count for SSP. For more information on QDs, see the page in this guide on when to start and stop payments. Remember, for the first three QDs - the waiting days - SSP is not paid.

You can work out the daily rate for your employee by dividing the weekly rate by the number of QDs. The weekly rate is a standard rate set by government. The current SSP weekly rate is £75.40 (April 2008) and is available for 22 weeks of sickness absence (in any 3 year period).

You can download details on the current SSP daily rates from the HM Revenue & Customs website (PDF).

It is worth noting that although the weekly rate is always the same, the fewer days your employee normally works, the higher the rate of SSP that is payable per qualifying day, ie the daily rate for an employee working a three-day week will be higher than that of an employee working a five-day week.

Maximum SSP
The maximum entitlement is 28 weeks in each period or series of linked periods of incapacity to work.

Calculate when you have paid 28 weeks' worth of SSP by keeping a running total of all SSP paid in a period or linked periods of sickness.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• What is Statutory Sick Pay and who gets it?
• Earnings-related qualification for SSP
• When to start and stop payments
• How much to pay
• Record keeping and forms
• Getting subsidies or relief
• Alternatives to paying Statutory Sick Pay
• Contractual issues

 Print This Page

Source - Business Link; Crown Copyright.