Statutory Sick Pay Guide

Entering sick days onto the system

Whenever an employee is off sick from work you should enter this onto the system. To do this follow the steps below:

  1. Click on the employee's name.
  2. Click on the 'Statutory Pay' tab.
  3. Under 'Statutory Sick Pay' the automatic default for 'Add to wages' is set to 'Yes', this should be left as 'Yes' if the employee is only to receive the statutory minimum whilst off. For everyone else change to 'No'.
  4. Under 'List of Sick Periods' enter the first full day that the employee was sick.
  5. Enter the last full day of their sickness. If the sickness is ongoing then leave this blank until they have returned to work.
  6. Click 'Add', you will then see the Average Earnings for this period. The SSP amount at this point will still show as 0.00.
  7. Click 'Save'.

Paying an employee with SSP

Firstly begin the pay run as normal by clicking on 'Pay Employees' and clicking 'Start New Pay run'.

If you have set 'Add to wages' as 'Yes' then you need to reduce the salary amount to reflect the amount they should be paid for the time they actually worked as the system will automatically add any SSP due.

If you have set 'Add to wages' as 'No' meaning that you are paying them as normal then you do not need to make any changes to the salary. The system will automatically calculate SSP but not add it to wages.

Now you need to Click on the 'Sick Pay' button and you will see the following screen.

Statutory sick pay screen

You are now being asked to enter the qualifying days - remember unless otherwise agreed these are the days the employee normally works. So if the employee normally works Monday to Friday you should untick Saturday and Sunday.

If the employee does not follow a set working pattern then click where indicated, underneath the grid. You should then untick all the days that are not normally worked Underneath the qualifying days you are asked if any Exclusions apply. Please click on the relevant option and enter the date the exclusion applies where prompted. If there are no exclusions then leave as 'None of the above apply'.

Click 'Calculate Sick Pay'.

You will then be shown how the SSP is to be worked out and the amount.

You can now click 'Calculate deductions' and proceed as normal.

Remember you must enter the dates of sickness prior to paying the employee.

If the system shows that no SSP is due then please see the 'Who is entitled to SSP' section below for possible reasons.

Who is entitled to SSP?

Statutory Sick Pay is normally paid to employees who are unable to work because of illness and who meet the below criteria:

  • The employee must be sick for a minimum of 4 days. All days (not just scheduled work days) count towards a PIW (Period of incapacity to work)
  • Their earnings must be at least as much as the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance Contributions (NICs)
  • The employee must have notified you of their sickness- either within your own set time limit or within seven days
  • They have not already received the maximum amount of SSP

If your employee is not entitled to SSP then you, the employer should complete an SSP1 form and give it to the employee, as they may be able to claim a social security benefit.

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