During the announcement by the government last week regarding Furlough and the extension to the scheme to help businesses, it was also made clear that employers were going to be able to recover the first 14 days of Statutory Sick Pay for any of their staff that were off with Coronavirus related illness.They have announced today how employers will be able to make this claim. Companies who have made SSP to staff during the Coronavirus pandemic will be able to make this claim at the end of the month (May 2020), using a Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay rebate scheme. This scheme was announced during the budget back in March 2020, as a part of the package of support measures for UK businesses which were affected by the outbreak. The rebate scheme is set to launch on 26th May and will allow employers with less than 250 employees to recover the costs of paying coronavirus-related Statutory Sick Pay.Employers will be able to receive payments at the relevant rate of Statutory Sick Pay, which is currently at £95.85 per week, paid to current or former employees unable to work as a result of being ill with Covid-19. This includes if they were self-isolating and unable to work, or shielding because they are at "high risk" of severe illness from Coronavirus. Where an employer pays more than the current rate of SSP in sick pay, (occupational or contractual sick pay) they will only be able to reclaim the SSP rate.
Employers are eligible if they have a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started before 28 February 2020 and they had fewer than 250 employees before the same date.The repayment will cover up to 2 weeks of SSP and is payable if an employee is unable to work because they:
Connected companies and charities can also use the scheme if their total combined number of PAYE employees is fewer than 250 on or before 28th February 2020. Employees do not have to provide a doctor’s fit note for their employer to make a claim under the scheme.The repayment will cover up to 2 weeks of SSP for eligible periods of sickness starting on or after 13th March 2020. It covers all types of employment contracts including full-time, part-time, agency workers, flexible, or zero-hours contract employees.Employers can furlough their employees who have been advised to shield in line with public health guidance and are unable to work from home, under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Once furloughed, the employee should no longer receive SSP and would be classified as a furloughed employee. Where an employee has been notified to shield and has not been furloughed, the rebate will compensate up to 2 weeks of SSP from 16 April 2020.
