How to claim back Statutory Sick Pay for your staff

First published: 27 March 2020
Updated: 19 May 2020

The Government are changing the law so that small- and medium-sized businesses and employers can claim back the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) you pay when staff are off work due to coronavirus.

You’ll be able to submit your claims for the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme from 26 May 2020.

• What can you claim back?
• Is your business eligible?
• Which employees are eligible?
• Can you claim for furloughed employees?
• What evidence do you need to submit?
• How do you claim a refund for SSP?
• When will you get the money?

What can you claim back?

As an employer, you can get a refund from the Government to cover up to two weeks’ Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) per eligible employee off work because of coronavirus.

The current rate of SSP is £95.85 per week (from 13 March to 5 April 2020, SSP was £94.25 per week). You can choose to pay more than the SSP rate – if you decide to do that, you can only claim for the SSP.

Is your business eligible?

You’re eligible if your business:

• is based in the UK
• employed fewer than 250 people on 28 February 2020

Which employees are eligible?

If your employees are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay, then you can claim for a reimbursement. This covers employees on different types of employment contracts, including:

• full-time employees
• part-time employees
• employees on agency contracts
• employees on flexible or zero-hour contracts

Read the full criteria:
Gov.uk | Statutory Sick Pay | Eligibility criteria

Can you claim for furloughed employees?

No because they should not receive Statutory Sick Pay while on furlough.

Instead, you can claim for their pay while furloughed under the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

What evidence do you need to submit?

To get the refund, you don’t need a note from your employee’s GP but you must keep records of their absence and the SSP payments you make.

If your company policy is that employees must submit evidence for sickness absence, these two options might be suitable for your records:

• people with symptoms of coronavirus can get an isolation note from NHS 111 online
• people who live with someone who has symptoms of coronavirus can get a note from the NHS website

How do you claim a refund for SSP?

You’ll be able to claim via an online service which will launch on 26 May 2020.

If you have a tax agent, they’ll be able to claim on your behalf.

Make sure you keep accurate records so that you can apply when the scheme opens. See above: What evidence do you need to submit?

When will you get the money?

The Government hasn’t yet announced when you’ll get the refund or how they’ll pay you. However they’ve promised to “set up the repayment mechanism for employers as soon as possible”.

When we have more information, we’ll update this page. The latest information from the Government is in this Gov.uk guidance:
Gov.uk | Covid-19: Support for businesses

Have your say

How is the coronavirus affecting you and your small business? We’re keen to hear from you – get in touch with us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

Photo by Lina Verovaya on Unsplash