Sickness

Use this tab to record the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) controls and other parameters for sickness payments. The SSP controls must be the statutory values described by HMRC for the current pay period.

Example: Recording Statutory Values for SSP

For the tax year starting from the 6th April 2009, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is paid for up to 28 weeks when an employee has been sick for at least four days in a row. Periods of at least four days in a row with eight weeks or fewer between them are counted as one period. The employee’s average earnings before deductions, such as tax and national insurance, should be greater than or equal to £95.00 a week or more to qualify for the standard rate of payment of £79.15 per week.

Linking Period: 56 (8 weeks = 8 X 7) days

Waiting Days: 3 (An employee only qualifies when the sickness is greater than or equal to 4 days)

Maximum Pay (Weeks): 28 (weeks)

Prevailing Rate: 79.15

For more information about sickness payments, refer to the HMRC website:

https://www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/employees/statutory-pay/ssp-overview.htm

SSP Controls

You can import these statutory values into the system after you run your year end process, in preparation for the new tax year. Note that the Minimum Days and Exclude if SMP within X Weeks values are not imported.

Linking Period

Waiting Days

Maximum Pay (Weeks)

Minimum Days

Prevailing Rate

Exclude if SMP Within X Weeks

HR Record Defaults

Deduct

The setting of this check box is used a default and is allocated to each new employee, but you can amend the setting for a specific employee by setting the Deduct Payment check box in their HR record.

Select this check box to include SSP payments in the gross pay for employees, and a corresponding deduction is recorded to allow the SSP value to be recovered. The value of the SSP transaction is subsequently included in the statutory documentation produced at the end of the tax year, but no payments are actually made because the occupational rules supersede them.

Part of your occupational plan might require you to pay some of the sickness under the occupational guidance, such as full or half pay, but a remaining residue might be outside this and might need to be paid to the employee as a direct statutory sickness payment. Careful management of the Deduct Payment check box in an employee’s HR record is required to ensure the correct progression from occupational to statutory payments.

Sunday – Saturday

Select the check boxes to record which days of the week employees usually work and that therefore would qualify for SSP in the event of sickness. These settings are used as defaults to determine the daily rate of pay. The statutory payment value described above is a weekly value, so a person working three days a week receives a larger daily rate than somebody working five days a week. These defaults are allocated to each new employee, but you can amend the qualifying days for an employee in Qualifying Day(s) in their HR record.

Automated Sick Pay – Valid Absence Codes

If the Personnel-based absence-recording system already contains details of employees’ absence, these details can be used to propose statutory sick payments for you rather than re-enter them into the Payroll module. The Absence module enables you to record many types of absences, including holidays, compassionate leave, and so on. You must identify which absence codes are appropriate for sickness payments. Type the sickness absence type codes in this field, and separate each code with a space character. If you use Occupational Sick, ensure you type the absence codes you use for sickness in this field.

Occupational Sick Pay

End Day Number OR Period End (0)

If you use  Occupational Sick, and you choose to adjust employees’ pay in the current period to take into account sickness absence, you must indicate how the system should handle occupational sickness payments. If you type a day number, such as 20, the system assumes employees who are sick in the current period will remain sick until the 20th of the month. The day you specify is typically the payroll cut-off date. If you type 0, the system assumes sick employees will remain sick until the end of the current pay period.

For information about the details you enter on the General Ledger tab, click here.