Updated for 2010 with information about new ‘Fit’ Notes.

SSP is paid to employees or workers (who pay Class 1 National Insurance Contributions) who cannot work because of sickness.

Those who are Self-Employed (and pay Class 2 National Insurance Contributions) have no entitlement to Statutory Sick Pay, but may be able to claim Incapacity Benefit.

The standard rate of SSP is £79.15 per week from 6th April 2009 (and will not rise in April 2010).  You are entitled to SSP from your employer if you meet the qualifying conditions, which are:

• You must be sick for at least 4 days in a row (including weekends and bank holidays)
• You must earn before tax and national insurance deductions an average of £95.00 per week (from 6th April 2009)
• There is no minimum period you need to have worked for your employer to qualify for SSP (from 27th October 2008 regulations are being amended that mean agency workers on contracts of less than 3 months CANNOT be excluded from receiving SSP),
• There are no age limits to receiving SSP (removed 1.10.06).

SSP is paid for a maximum of 28 weeks and when it ends (or if you cannot get it ) you may be able to claim Incapacity Benefit from your local Job Centre; your employer needs to give you a form SSP1 which they complete and you send to your local Job Centre.

If your employer does not pay you SSP or you believe they are paying you an incorrect amount, and if you cannot sort this out with your employer, you can contact your local HM Revenue and Customs office who will help – find your local office at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/enq/index.htm

Many employers may offer more generous payments to employees if they are off sick, under their own schemes.

For information on holiday entitlement when on sick leave please click here for Working Time Regulations information.

If you return from sickness within 7 days you should be required to fill in a self-certificate form explaining the nature of your sickness absence.

If you are ill for 7 days or more you need to get a certificate from your Doctor giving the reason why you could not go to work.  From 6th April 2010 these certificates will be known as a ‘fit note’.

‘Fit’ notes to replace ‘Sick’ notes from 6^th April 2010:

From April, GP’s will provide a computer-generated medical fit-note rather than the current hand-written sick note, in an effort by the previous Labour Government to cure the UK’s high sickness absence rates (in 2007, 172 million working days were lost to ill heath according to the Government).

The purpose of the new fit-note is to encourage the gradual reintroduction of employees to work, as they recover from their illness, which the Government believed would help both employees and employers.

The new ‘fit’ note will only have 2 options.  GP’s will indicate that sick individuals:

• Are totally ‘unfit for work’
• “may be fit for some work” (with GP’s advice).

The Government issued guidance and help for GP’s on completing the new fit notes (called Statement of Fitness for Work) and guidance for Employers on how to help employees return to work after periods of sickness.

Important information:

• The new ‘fit’ note can only be issued by GP’s for a maximum period of 3 months in the first 6 months of sickness.
• As now, the new statement is not required to be given to your employer until after the 7^th calendar day of sickness.
• The new system has no effect on how SSP functions or on Employers obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act.
• The old white sick note (called Med 3) or pink sick note (called Med 5) are both replaced by the one new form (Statement of Fitness for Work).  The yellow (Med 10) form that is issued when an individual has been a hospital in-patient will not change and will continue to be issued.
• GP’s are asked to choose ‘may be fit for work’ where they think the person may be able to return to work, even if not completely well, if they get suitable support from their Employers.
• GP’s will then list whether an employee would benefit from a phased return to work, altered hours or duties or workplace adaptions, but they do not need to go into detail regarding what activities an employee can carry out.
• The fit note will state whether you need to see your GP again (at the end of the duration of the fit note), before you return to normal or ‘supported’ work.  If your GP does not need to see you again you would be expected to return to work at the end of the Statement period.  If your GP needs to see you before this date, and during this consultation they feel you can return to normal work (without support, which is being called ‘functional limitations’) you will not be issued with a new statement.
• If circumstances change during the period of the fit note duration and employees feel they are ready to return to work (with or without support), they need to return to their GP for an amended fit note.

• Employers should discuss the GP’s ‘may be fit for some work’ comments with the employee to see if the GP’s suggestions can be accommodated.
• If the matter cannot be resolved with the employee, Employers are asked to consider taking advice from an Occupational Health (OH) professional and/or contact the GP to discuss the comments. 
• If an Employer cannot provide the necessary support or cannot agree with the Employee about the type of support suggested by the GP, then the Government have advised that the GP’s comments are advisory only and so are not binding on the Employer.  Where there is no agreement and the employee cannot return to work then the ‘fit note’ will be treated as a ‘not fit for work’ note, until the situation changes.

The new fit note system has drawn criticism regarding the fact that discussions between the Employer and Employee may end in dispute and that the need to discuss the GP’s comments with the employee, an OH professional and/or GP will cause time delays and potential costs for the Employer (as GP’s can charge for advising Employers).  The above information applies as of April 2010 but may be amended by the Government over time – critics of the new system think there could be much initial confusion by GP’s and Employers about the new system and that eventually there will be inevitable case law in this area. jobs by workcircle

Image by Sakurako Kitsa

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Please note that the advice given on this website and by our Advisors is guidance only and cannot be taken as an authoritative interpretation of the law. It can also not be seen as specific advice for individual cases. Please also note that there are differences in legislation in Northern Ireland.