Sick Pay Calculator

What is statutory sick pay?

At some point your employees will be affected by sickness and will have to take time off work. When this happens, your employees will be eligible for statutory sick pay. This form of sick pay is the legal minimum that your employee will be entitled to when they are sick. This pay will be supplied by you and will start once the employee is off sick for more than four days in a row.

How does statutory sick pay differ from company sick pay?

Unlike SSP, company sick pay is financial sickness covered at the discretion of the employer and is not bound by law. This can take several forms, including paying the workers for the first 3 days before SSP starts or topping the sick pay up by £50 a week. Some employers may decide to give employees their full salary for a set period of time. As long as the occupational pay is more than SSP it is completely up to the employer. Paying company sick pay may sound counter-intuitive. Why pay for an employee to be ill? But company sick pay can help attract the very best talent, boost morale and with that, productivity. It can also work to reduce sickness and boost productivity office wide, by encouraging ill individuals not to come in and spread coughs and colds. For some illnesses employees may still feel able to work. In these situations it will be wise to look at a good remote working policy.

What are the rules surrounding statutory sick pay?

As an employer, there are a few things to remember when it comes to paying statutory sick pay.

• You are the one paying

  By law, all employers must provide SSP for their workers. In the past, the UK government covered some of the SSP costs as part of the Percentage threshold scheme. However, this was removed in 2014.

• Payment starts after three days of sickness

  Statutory sick pay starts on the fourth day in a row that your employee is off sick. This is known as the qualifying day. The three days prior are known as waiting days. No payment is required by law before this period unless the employee has been sick and receiving SSP within the last eight weeks. In some cases, employers may choose to cover these three qualifying days as part of their company sick pay.

• Stop only when legally allowed to do so

  Statutory sick pay usually stops after 28 weeks of absence. It also ends if your employee has a series of linked periods of sickness, separated by less than eight weeks, and has lasted for longer than three years. SSP should also be stopped if an employee starts receiving statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance.

Remember, if you stop paying SSP and the employee is still off sick, you should complete the SSP1 form and send it to the employee so they can claim employment support.

Who is eligible for SSP?

The UK government states that to qualify for Statutory Sick Pay your employee should:

• Have an employment contract
• Have worked under the contract
• Have been ill for four or more days in a row, including non-working days
• Earn £123 a week or more on average
• Give you notice of their illness
• Give you proof of their illness after they’ve had seven days off

SSP Exceptions

There are some exceptions to SSP which may mean your employees aren't eligible for it. These include those who have already had the maximum of 28 weeks and those who are already getting statutory maternity pay. In some cases, employees could have linked periods of sickness if they are regularly falling ill. When these linked periods last more than three years, the employee will not be eligible for SSP.