What is Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) 

23rd June 2015

For an employee to qualify for SSP they must:

• be classed as an employee and have done some work for you as the employer
• have been ill for at least four days in a row (including non-working days)
• earn at least £112 (before tax) per week
• tell their employer they are sick before their deadline – or within 7 days if they don’t have one

Agency workers are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay.

Exceptions

An employee is not eligible for SSP if:

• they have received the maximum amount of SSP (28 weeks)
• they are getting Statutory Maternity Pay

They can still qualify if they started their job recently and they haven’t received eight weeks’ pay yet.

Linked periods of sickness

If your employee has regular periods of sickness, they may count as ‘linked’. To be linked, the periods must:

• qualify for SSP by lasting four or more days each
• be eight weeks or less apart

The employee is no longer eligible for SSP if they have a continuous series of linked periods that lasts more than 3 years.