The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme repays employers the SSP paid to current or former employees.
Who can use the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme?
The scheme is intended for employers only and allows them to claim back up to two weeks’ of SSP if:
- They have already paid employee’s sick pay
- They are claiming for an employee who is eligible for sick pay due to COVID-19
- They have a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started on or before 30 November 2021
- They had less than 250 employees on 30 November 2021 across all PAYE payroll schemes.
The maximum number of employees that can be claimed for is the number across all PAYE schemes on 30 November 2021.
What can be claimed under the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme?
The repayment will cover up to two weeks’ SSP from the first qualifying day of sickness, if an employee is unable to work because they:
- Have COVID-19 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 COVID-19
- Have been notified by the NHS to self-isolate before surgery for up to 14 days.
Employers can make more than one claim per employee, but they cannot claim more than two weeks in total.
Claims can be made from the first qualifying day that an employee is off work if the period of sickness started on or after 21 December 2021, if the employee:
- Has COVID-19
- Has COVID-19 symptoms
- Was self-isolating because someone they live with has symptoms.
NB: Employers can only claim for employees who were off work on or after 21 December 2021. So if the employee’s absence started before 21 December 2021 you can only claim on or after 21 December 2021.
What records shall I keep to claim the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme?
Employers must keep records of any SSP paid that they wish to claim back. The following records must be kept for 3 years after the date that repayment of the SSP is made:
- The dates the employee was off sick
- Details of which of those dates were qualifying days
- The reason the employee said they were off work
- The employee’s National Insurance number.
How to claim under the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme:
For details on how to make a claim, please visit the government website here.
Please note that employers must have paid the employees’ sick pay before it is claimed back.
Further information can be found in the government guidance here.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact your usual Mitchell Charlesworth advisor to the right of this page.
Written 20 January 2022.
