Employees can reclaim statutory Sick pay for employees with COVID-19.
Employers can claim back up to 2 weeks of SSP if:
- They have already paid your employee’s sick pay (use the SSP calculator to work out how much to pay)
- They are claiming for an employee who is eligible for sick pay due to coronavirus
- They have a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started on or before 28 February 2020
- They had fewer than 250 employees on 28 February 2020 across all their PAYE payroll schemes
This will cover 2 weeks SSP per employee, if they are unable to work because they:
- Have coronavirus symptoms
- Are self-isolating because someone they live with has symptoms
- Are self-isolating because they have been notified by the NHS or public health bodies that they have come into contact with someone with coronavirus
- Are shielding and have a letter from the NHS or a GP telling them to stay at home for at least 12 weeks
- From 8 June 2020, most people entering or returning to the UK were required to quarantine for 14 days. If an employee was unable to work during this period, they will not qualify for SSP unless they also meet one of the above criteria.
You can make more than one claim per employee, but you cannot claim for more than 2 weeks in total.
You can claim from the first qualifying day your employee is off work if the period of sickness started on or after:
- 13 March 2020 – if your employee had coronavirus or the symptoms or is self-isolating because someone, they live with has symptoms
- 16 April 2020 – if your employee was shielding because of coronavirus
- 28 May 2020 – if your employee has been notified by the NHS or public health bodies that they have come into contact with someone with coronavirus
A ‘qualifying day’ is a day an employee usually works on. The weekly rate was £94.25 before 6 April 2020 and is now £95.85. If you are an employer who pays more than the weekly rate of SSP you can only claim up to the weekly rate paid.
The scheme covers all types of employment contracts, including:
- full-time employees
- part-time employees
- employees on agency contracts
- employees on flexible or zero-hour contracts
- fixed term contracts (until the date their contract ends)
You can make a claim for SSP paid due to coronavirus to employees who have been transferred to you under TUPE if you had:
- A PAYE scheme that was created and started on or before 28 February 2020
- Fewer than 250 employees (including TUPE transferred employees) across all PAYE payroll schemes on 28 February 2020
If you did not have a PAYE scheme that was created on or before 28 February 2020, but the previous employer did, you can make a claim if they had fewer than 250 employees across all their PAYE schemes on that date.
As the new employer, you can only make claims for SSP that you have paid, a claim cannot include SSP paid by the previous employer.
If you are claiming for wage costs through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, you can also claim back from both the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme for the same employee but not for the same period of time.
Your claim amount should not take you above the state aid limits under the EU Commission temporary framework. This is when combined with other aid received under the framework. The maximum level of state aid that a business may receive is €800,000. There is a lower maximum for agriculture at €100,000 and aquaculture and fisheries at €120,000.
Connected companies and charities can also use the scheme if their total combined number of PAYE employees was fewer than 250 on 28 February 2020.