There have been a couple of changes to the Statutory Sick Pay Regulations (SSP) that you need to know about.
- Employees on furlough are not entitled to SSP. I presume that this is based on the fact that if someone is on furlough they are not working and therefore by extension cannot be incapable of working. Being incapable of working due to illness or injury is the criterion for claiming SSP.
- Those very vulnerable people who have received letters from Public Health England (PHE) advising them to be in isolation for 12 weeks should be paid SSP for the isolation period. I have heard of a number of instances whereby people who believe they should be on the shielded list have not received letters from PHE, if that is the case they need to contact their GP. The GP will then either contact PHE to get the individual listed or advise the individual that they are not sufficiently vulnerable to be shielded.
As an aside, there cannot be many people who can live on £95.85 a week for 12 weeks and those individuals will therefore need to apply to DWP for additional funds.
If you need advice and guidance please phone me on 07766 167160 or contact me through my website at www.bdroper-hr.co.uk