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sick note

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philk1 | 01:47 Fri 19th Oct 2007 | Jobs & Education
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i know this may be viewed as a stupid question, but ive only been working for 4 years and in that time ive never been off sick!...but it seems i now have a serious back problem. my question is...ahem!..how do you go off sick? i understand i need a note from my gp, but wot then? do i need to do anything else? how does sick pay work? i totally have no idea! help lol!
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Your only automatic entitlement to receive sick pay relates to 'Statutory Sick Pay'. This is currently �72.55 per week. It's payable from the 4th day of your sickness and lasts for up to 28 weeks. You can initially 'self-certify' your sickness, using this form:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/sc2.pdf
You should do so within 7 days of the sickness first occurring.

For lengthy periods of sickness, an employer can insist that the employee provides further evidence, either from their GP or from a hospital.

http://www.directgov.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBene fits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Illorin jured/DG_10018786

Some employers have their own sick pay schemes, which must pay at least as much as SSP. If your employer has such a scheme, the actual amount will be determined by your the conditions in your contract of employment (or by any collective agreement between your employer and your trade union). Some schemes are very generous (e.g. teachers usually get full pay for at least 6 months and at least half-pay for a further 6 months). Others might, say, only provide half-pay for 3 months and SSP thereafter. There are no fixed rules and, as indicated, many employers don't have such schemes and only pay SSP.

Chris
Hi - sorry to "hijack" philk1's question but can you tell me the statuatory sick pay rate of �72.00 and a few pennies.... does that apply to part time workers too? I work 28 hours a week and although i am currently HALE n HEARTy... I am curious what it will be if Iever need to take time off(my work does not pay sick pay so i owuld need to go statutory sick pay)
Question Author
helpful answers thank you...but wot i really need to know is ..wot is it i actually have to do? do i just send in my doctors note to my employer and thats it? or am i expected to fill out various forms of some kind? is sick pay sorted out as quickly as the next 'payday'? ive totally no idea as i say...as to how this works!
You should contact your HR department as different companies have different rules. For example, we are expected to phone in before 10am on the first day of sickness then complete a "back to work" interview with our line manager.
For Philk1
Your should get sick pay (either SSP or the appropriate payment under your company's scheme) on your normal pay date. Your only initial obligation is to complete the form which I've linked to above. Thereafter, your employer will notify you of any further requirements. (i.e. you don't have to do anything, other than complete the initial form, until you're asked to do so).

For Evedawn
Everyone who earns an average of �87 per week, or over, is entitled to sick pay on the 4th day of illness. (Weekends and other non-working days still count for this purpose).

Chris
contact your line manager asap and inform them that you are unable to come to work. If the doctor has signed you off, tell them when to expect you back. As Squarebear said, different companies have different procedures, so you first port of call is your line manager. They should handle things at that end. All you should have to do is concentrate on recovering.
Chris an employee gets the SSP on the fourth Qualifying Day (working day,) not the fourth day of the sickness.

If you go sick on a Monday and normally work Monday to Friday, the SSP starts on the Thursday. If you normally work Monday and Tuesday, the SSP wouldn't start till the following Tuesday because that is the fourth working day.

For a wee bit more info, the average wage is calculated using the money earnt in the eight weeks before going sick. That means someone could be getting less than �87 for months but would qualify for SSP because they've done a few weeks' overtime in those eight weeks
The CorbyLoon
I'm trying to workout whether we're actually disagreeing or not. Somebody who works Monday to Friday, who goes sick on a Friday, gets SSP from the following Monday, not from the Wednesday. So it follows that the part-time worker in your example should receive full SSP for the second week of their sickness.

Quotes:
"If you're working for an employer under a contract of service (even if you've only just started), you're entitled to Statutory Sick Pay if the following apply:
* you're sick for at least four days in a row (weekends and bank holidays are included)
* you're earning at least �87 a week on average"

and:
"Statutory Sick Pay is paid for every day you'd normally be working. It starts on the fourth day of any period of sickness and lasts for a maximum of 28 weeks"

(Source = link as above).

I used to do a friend's PAYE for his business. SSP was always paid as above and HMRC confirmed that the payments were correct.

Chris
Chris we are disagreeing. I used to work on a section processing claims for Incapacity Benefit and part of that job was making sure Employers had given us the correct info about SSP. To quote fae HMRC�s website their E14 Employer�s Guide. What to do if your Employee is sick-

"Qualifying Days (QDs)
The only days you can
pay SSP for, and
count as Waiting Days (WDs).
They are usually the days of the week your employee normally works; their contracted working days.
You can decide not to use the contracted working days if, for example, your workforce operates a varied work pattern each week. For simplicity you may want to have the same days each week as the QDs, but you must first reach agreement with your workforce or their representative(s) about which days will be QDs.
There must be at least one QD in each week running from Sunday to Saturday. Bank Holidays and other non-working days do not alter the normal pattern of QDs.

Waiting Days (WDs)

SSP is not payable for the first three QDs in a PIW. These are called Waiting Days (WDs).
They are not always the first three days of sickness as the employee may have been sick on non QDs
. "
that all sounds rather confusing!!
i was dismayed to read the bit about, if you don't earn more than �87 per week you are not entitled to ssp, I'm actually on a lower wage as i cant do too many hours due to health reasons, so it seems basically i would have been better off not getting a job as if i get sick i wont get paid?

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