Statutory sick pay update

Statutory sick pay (SSP) was introduced in 1983 and was the first of the statutory payments to be paid through the payroll rather than directly by the state. If they qualify SSP is the minimum amount of money that an employee can legally expect from their employer when they are unable to work because of sickness. Employers are at liberty to provide sick pay at a rate more than SSP under contractual arrangements but they cannot pay less. And nor can they ask an employee to contribute to SSP – in effect it provides a minimum level of pay during periods of sickness.

SSP is subject to income tax and National Insurance and lawful deductions can be made from it.

Getting it right

SSP has been in existence for almost 40 years but it is still not uncommon for employers to misunderstand the rules. Four prominent advisory...