8. Sick pay and sickness absence 



An employer must provide employees with details of their sick pay entitlement as part of the written statement of employment particulars within two months of the employment start date (see Chapter 3: The employment contract). Sick pay rules do not have to be included in the written employment contract. Instead, they can be recorded in a separate document given to the employee. Many employers provide occupational sick pay that is more generous than statutory sick pay (SSP).


Employees who are not entitled to occupational sick pay but who meet the qualifying criteria for SSP are entitled to SSP of £89.35 per week (2017-18) for a maximum of 28 weeks. To receive SSP, an employee must earn an average of at least £113 a week (2017-18), known as the Lower Earnings Limit. SSP normally increases annually each April in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). It is paid by the employer in the same way as wages. 



The SSP rules changed in April 2014 so that employers can no longer reclaim from HMRC the SSP they pay out. The money saved is intended to fund the cost of the government’s Fit for Work Service (see below). 



Agency workers who meet the qualifying conditions for SSP are entitled to SSP from the first day of their contract. Whichever party is responsible for deducting national insurance from their earnings is responsible for paying their SSP. 



Anyone who is not entitled to SSP may qualify for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA). DLA is being phased out and replaced by Personal Independence Payments (PIP), in a rolling programme. Somebody with a long-term work-related illness or injury may also qualify for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. For more information about state benefits, see the LRD booklet, State Benefits and Tax Credits — a trade union guide to in-work benefits, 2017 (www.lrdpublications.org.uk/publications.php?pub=BK&iss=1869).


In November 2016, the government announced an intention to review SSP and GP Fit Notes “to help employees return to work quicker and for longer”.