Employers to recover coronavirus-related statutory sick pay (SSP)

From Tuesday 26 May, employers can reclaim coronavirus-related statutory sick pay (SSP) paid after 13 March 2020, via HMRC’s new online claims service.

Employers are eligible under the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme if they have a PAYE payroll scheme that started before 28 February 2020 and fewer than 250 employees before this date. The scheme will allow SMEs to apply to HMRC to recover the costs of paying coronavirus-related statutory sick pay.

Employers can reclaim up to two weeks’ SSP paid to employees with coronavirus, employees who are self-isolating and unable to work from home or are shielding because they are at high risk.

You can claim for periods of sickness starting on or after:

• 13 March 2020 – if your employee had coronavirus or the symptoms or is self-isolating because someone they live with has symptoms
• 16 April 2020 – if your employee was shielding because of coronavirus

The weekly rate was £94.25 before 6 April 2020 and is now £95.85. If you’re an employer who pays more than the weekly rate of SSP you can only claim up to the weekly rate paid.

Employees do not have to give you a doctor’s fit note for you to make a claim. But you can ask them to give you either:

• an isolation note from NHS 111 – if they are self-isolating and cannot work because of coronavirus
• the NHS or GP letter telling them to stay at home for at least 12 weeks because they’re at high risk of severe illness from coronavirus

To prepare to make their claim, employers should keep records of all the SSP payments that they wish to claim from HMRC.