Statutory sick pay

STATUTORY SICK PAY – ABOLITION OF THE PERCENTAGE THRESHHOLD SCHEME

The Percentage Threshold Scheme (PTS), which allowed employers to reclaim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) in certain circumstances, is abolished from 6th April 2014.

Under PTS employers could reclaim SSP where the SSP paid was more than 13% of the Class 1 National Insurance Contributions due for the month. As of 6th April 2014, it is no longer possible for employers to recover SSP from the government. Employers will, however, continue to be able to recover unclaimed SSP for previous years for a limited period and so should seek advice from an accountant if they believe this applies.

The reason for this change is that it was believed that the PTS gave employers an incentive not to encourage long term sick employees to return to the workplace.

The government has announced that the current PTS funding will be put towards the new Health & Work Service instead. This scheme is due to start in 2015 and is intended to help employees and employers put together plans to facilitate a return to work for employees who have been incapacitated for four weeks.