Everything you need to know about the revised SSP

Prior to the budget, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced SSP would be paid from the first day of sickness absence, rather than the fourth day, for people who have COVID-19 or have to self‑isolate.

However, the recently announced budget set out a further package to widen the scope of SSP and make it more accessible. The government will temporarily extend SSP to cover:

• Individuals who are unable to work because they have been advised to self-isolate;
• People caring for those within the same household who display COVID-19 symptoms and have been told to self-isolate.

The government has published guidance to employers, advising them to use their discretion not to require a GP fit note for COVID-19 related absences. It has also announced that it will bring forward a temporary alternative to the fit note in the coming weeks which can be used for the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The budget also announced a set of measures to provide support to businesses during this temporary period by either reducing their costs or bridging cashflow problems arising from the outbreak, and to protect people’s jobs.

The government announced that it will support small and medium-sized businesses and employers to cope with the extra costs of paying COVID-19 related SSP by refunding eligible SSP costs. The eligibility criteria for the scheme are as follows:

• This refund will be limited to two weeks per employee;
• Employers with fewer than 250 employees will be eligible. The size of an employer will be determined by the number of people they employed as of February 28 2020;
• Employers will be able to reclaim expenditure for any employee who has claimed SSP (according to the new eligibility criteria) as a result of COVID-19;
• Employers should maintain records of staff absences, but should not require employees to provide a GP fit note;
• The eligible period for the scheme will commence from the day on which the regulations extending SSP to self-isolators come into force;
• While existing systems are not designed to facilitate such employer refunds for SSP, the government will work with employers over the coming months to set up a repayment mechanism for employers as soon as possible.