How much is SSP?

Many employers provide an occupational sick pay scheme that is more generous than the statutory sick pay (SSP) scheme. Employees who are not entitled to occupational sick pay but who meet the qualifying criteria for SSP are entitled to SSP of £87.55 week (since 6 April 2014) for a maximum of 28 weeks. To receive SSP, an employee must earn an average of at least £111 a week. SSP is paid by the employer in the same way as wages.

Changes to the SSP rules from 6 April 2014 mean that, in future, employers will not be able to reclaim SSP from the State. The government says that the money saved will be used to fund the cost of a new Health Work and Well-being Service, targeting employees with at least four weeks of continuous sickness absence (see page 210).

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

Workers or employees who are not entitled to SSP may qualify for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA). DLA started to be replaced by Personal Independence Payments (PIP) from April 2013. For more information about available state benefits, see the LRD booklet State Benefits and Tax Credits 2014 (www.lrdpublications.org.uk/publications.php?pub=BK&iss=1712).

Pregnant women can claim SSP, unless they are sick for a pregnancy-related reason from four weeks before the baby’s expected week of birth, in which case they will start getting Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or Maternity Allowance (MA) (see Chapter 8). Women cannot claim SSP and SMP at the same time.