Made available from 26 May, the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Rebate Scheme allows employers with fewer than 250 employees to recover SSP payments.
Employers can make claims through the scheme and receive repayments at the relevant rate of SSP that they have paid to current or former employees for eligible periods of sickness starting on or after 13 March 2020. The service can also be used by tax agents to make claims on behalf of employers.
To be eligible employers must have a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started before 28 February 2020 and had fewer than 250 employees before the same date.
The repayment will cover up to two weeks of SSP and is payable if an employee is unable to work because they:
- have coronavirus; or
- are self-isolating and unable to work from home; or
- are shielding because they've been advised that they're at high risk of severe illness from coronavirus
The SSP rate from 6 April 2020 is £95.85 per week. Employers can choose to go further and pay more than the statutory minimum (known as occupational or contractual sick pay) but they will only be able to reclaim the SSP rate through the scheme.
Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, employers can furlough employees who have been advised to shield in line with public health guidance and are unable to work from home. Once furloughed, the employee should no longer receive SSP and would be classified as a furloughed employee. Where an employee has been notified to shield and has not been furloughed, the rebate will compensate up to two weeks of SSP from 16 April 2020.
For further information visit the GOV.UK website.
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