Claims Service for Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme Opens Soon
Claims Service for Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme Opens Soon
A new online service will be launched on 26 May for small and medium-sized employers to recover Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) payments they have made to their employees, the Government has announced.
The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme was announced at Budget 2020 as part of a package of support measures for businesses affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The scheme allows employers with fewer than 250 employees to apply to HMRC to recover the costs of paying coronavirus-related SSP.
Employers will 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. Employers are eligible if they have a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started before 28 February 2020 and they 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 have been advised that they are at high risk of severe illness from coronavirus.
The current rate of SSP is £95.85 per week. Employers can choose to go further and pay more than the statutory minimum. This is known as occupational or contractual sick pay. Where an employer pays more than the current rate of SSP in sick pay, they will only be able to reclaim the SSP rate.
The scheme covers all types of employment contracts, including full and part-time employees, those on agency contracts or flexible or zero-hours contracts.
Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, Therese Coffey, said:
‘We are committed to supporting Britain’s small and medium businesses through this pandemic with a comprehensive package of support.
‘This rebate will put money back in the pockets of millions of employers, ensuring they can hit the ground running as the economy re-opens.’
To prepare to make their claim, employers should keep records of all the SSP payments that they wish to claim from HMRC. Applicants can read further guidance on checking whether they can claim back SSP paid to employees due to coronavirus on GOV.UK.
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