Sickness
During your illness, the key to maintaining a good relationship with your employer whilst you are off work is to notify them immediately when you know you are going to be off work and to update them on your illness and recovery.
If you have been off work sick for seven days or fewer your employer can ask you to confirm that you’ve been ill, via self-certification using a form held by the employer.
If you have been off work sick for more than seven days you will need to get a Statement of Fitness to Work from your GP or the doctor that treated you in hospital.
There are two forms of sick pay. Your two types are;
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): This is money paid by law that most employees are entitled to if they are off sick
- Contractual Sick Pay: This is money that your contract of employment says you are entitled to if you are off sick.
Statutory Sick Pay
If you are off sick from work, you may get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). SSP is paid by your employer for up to 28 weeks. SSP is treated like earnings for the purposes of income tax and forms part of your taxable income.
To get SSP, you must earn more than £102 a week.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is paid at a fixed weekly rate of £81.60
It does not matter whether you are working full-time or part- time. Agency workers and workers on a fixed-term contract qualify for SSP. If you are self-employed, you do not qualify for SSP.
If you cannot get SSP, for example, because you do not earn enough or if you have been off sick for more than 28 weeks, your employer will give you form SSP1 and tell you why.
Contractual Sick Pay
Your contract of employment may give you more than the amount of SSP you can get and you may get it for a longer period. Sick pay under your contract is called contractual sick pay. Contractual sick pay might not be your normal rate of pay, but it cannot be less than SSP.