Sick Pay

What this policy covers

This policy applies to employees and workers.

This policy sets out your entitlement to sick pay and outlines the basic rules and qualifying criteria that apply to sick pay. The payment of sick pay is dependent on your adherence to the Organisation's Absence Procedures, which can be found in this Employee Handbook.

Your entitlements

Statutory Sick Pay

Regardless of your length of service, if you are absent from work because of sickness or injury, you will normally be entitled to receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from the Organisation at the prevailing rate. The payment of SSP is conditional upon you satisfying the following qualifying conditions:

• your period of absence consists of at least four consecutive days

• you earn at least the 'Lower Earnings Limit' for National Insurance Contributions (NIC), which is reviewed on an annual basis

The first three days of sickness absence are classed as waiting days, and SSP will not normally be paid.

Once you have met the necessary qualifying conditions and provided the required medical evidence that you are unfit for work, SSP will be paid for each subsequent work day that you remain absent due to sickness or injury. You will only be paid for those days on which you would normally work or are scheduled to work.

SSP is normally payable for a maximum of 28 weeks.

If your absence is as a result of an injury or illness caused by a third party, any Statutory Sick Pay paid is required to be repaid if any compensation for loss of earnings is recovered from the third party.

The provisions relating to SSP are extremely complex. If you have any questions about this policy, you should discuss these with your manager.

Procedure

You must comply with the Organisation's Absence Procedure, which is outlined in this Employee Handbook.