The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme is now live, allowing employers who meet the eligibility criteria to reclaim up to two weeks of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for employees who cannot work because of coronavirus-related sickness. The rate of SSP claimable is capped at the weekly statutory rates of £94.25 before 6 April 2020 and £95.85 from 6 April 2020.

In this short blog, we cover the key things you need to know about the scheme.

Who can claim?

This scheme is open to employers who meet all of the following criteria:

• You’re claiming for an employee who’s eligible for SSP due to coronavirus
• You had a PAYE scheme in operation on or before 28 February 2020
• You had fewer than 250 employees across all PAYE schemes on 28 February 2020
• The claim amount will not take you above state aid limits

What can be claimed?

The scheme will cover up to two weeks SSP from the first qualifying day (day the employee usually works on) of sickness for individuals that were employed, entitled to SSP and unable to work due to one of the following reasons:

• Had coronavirus or symptoms or is self-isolating because someone they live with has symptoms in the period starting on or after 13 March 2020
• Were shielding because of coronavirus in the period starting on or after 16 April 2020
• Have been notified by NHS or public health that they have come into contact with someone with coronavirus therefore need to self-isolate in the period starting on or after 28 May 2020.

Sick pay must have been paid before it can be reclaimed.  You can make more than one claim per employee, however you cannot claim for more than two weeks in total.

An employer can claim through the Job Retention Scheme as well as the SSP Rebate Scheme for the same employee as long as it’s not for the same period of time.

How to claim

HMRC has launched a portal to allow employers to submit their claim.

If you have an agent who is authorised to act on your behalf for PAYE, they will be able to claim on your behalf. Multiple claims can be submitted as long as they are done following payment being made to employees. 

The following information will be required to make a claim:

• Your contact details
• UK bank details in order for HMRC to submit payment for a successful claim
• Government Gateway log in details and PAYE reference number
• Number of employees being claimed for
• Start and end dates for your claim
• Total amount of SSP paid      

Get in touch

If you have any questions about the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme or would like to discuss how we can help you with this scheme, please get in touch with your usual Johnston Carmichael adviser or alternatively you can contact our dedicated payroll team at payroll@jcca.co.uk.