Payroll
We understand that many of you will have payroll and employment queries at the current time, and while we can’t provide employment law advice, we can point you in the direction of some useful guidance. ACAS are reviewing and revising their guidance as and when necessary and the link below is a good place to start with any employment queries you may have that specifically relate to Coronavirus:
https://www.acas.org.uk/coronavirus
ACAS helpline: 0300 123 1100
Specific legal advice should be taken if you are considering changing any employees’ hours of work or terms and conditions of employment. You should contact your usual HR adviser or the ACAS helpline number above.
Information on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme can be found here.
Statutory Sick Pay
An employee’s right to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) depends on the employment status and earnings. However, if they are eligible and receive medical advice to self-isolate or become ill, they will be entitled to SSP from the first day of their absence from work. You may also have contractual sick pay in place as part of your terms and conditions of employment.
The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (CSSPRS) can be used by employers with less than 250 employees, to claim for any employee who is eligible for sick pay due to coronavirus. There must have been a payroll scheme in place on or before 28 February 2020. A new online service was launched on 26 May for small and medium-sized employers to recover Statutory Sick Pay payments they have made to their employees.
The scheme will repay employers the current rate of SSP* for each employee periods of sickness starting on or after 13 March 2020. The repayment will cover up to 2 weeks starting from the first day of sickness, if an employee is unable to work because they either:
- have coronavirus
- cannot work because they are self-isolating at home
Any employers paying more than SSP will only be able to claim the current SSP amount.
The HMRC online service is being used to reclaim SSP. Employers must keep records of all the statutory sick payments that they want to claim from HMRC, including:
- the reason why an employee could not work
- details of each period when an employee could not work, including start and end dates
- details of the SSP qualifying days when an employee could not work
- National Insurance numbers of all employees who have been paid SSP
Records will need to be kept for at least 3 years following the claim. Employees do not have to give employers a doctor’s fit note for a claim to be made.
*SSP rates are £94.25 per week prior to 6 April 2020 and £95.85 per week after 6 April 2020.
As with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claims, some of our payroll clients have confirmed that they would like us to make the SSP claim on their behalf and if you would like us to do this (but haven’t informed us yet), please can you let us know as soon as possible.
Further details regarding the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme can be found on gov.uk.
