Statutory Sick Pay Support for Business

Support for businesses who are paying sick pay to employees

Legislation has been brought forward to allow small to medium businesses and employers to reclaim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid for sickness absence due to COVID-19.

The eligibility criteria for the scheme will be as follows:

• the refund will cover up to 2 weeks’ SSP per eligible employee who has been off work because of COVID-19
• employers with fewer than 250 employees will be eligible - the size of an employer will be determined by the number of people you employed as of 28 February 2020
• employers will be able to reclaim expenditure for any employee who has claimed SSP (according to the new eligibility criteria) as a result of COVID-19
• employers should maintain records of staff absences and payments of SSP, but employees will not need to provide a GP fit note. If evidence is required by an employer, those with symptoms of coronavirus can get an isolation note from NHS 111 online and those who live with someone that has symptoms can get a note from the NHS website
• eligible period for the scheme will commence the day after the regulations on the extension of SSP to those staying at home comes into force
• the government will work with employers over the coming months to set up the repayment mechanism for employers as soon as possible

Eligibility

You are eligible for the scheme if:

• your business is UK based
• your business is a small or medium-sized and employs fewer than 250 employees as of 28 February 2020

Who can use the scheme

The scheme can be used by employers if they:

• are claiming for an employee who’s eligible for sick pay due to coronavirus
• had a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started on or before 28 February 2020
• had fewer than 250 employees on 28 February 2020

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

How to access the scheme

The online service that you'll use to reclaim SSP is not yet available. Please check with HMRC.