Reclaiming Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

I’ve heard that I won’t be able to reclaim the sick pay I pay to my employees from April. Is this true?

Unfortunately yes. Employers can currently recover statutory sick pay (SSP) as an off-set against PAYE due, if the SSP exceeds 13% of the class 1 NICs the employer pays over for the tax month. The excess SSP above the 13% threshold is the off-set amount.

For SSP paid on and after 6 April 2014 no off-sets will be given. The SSP will be an absolute cost to the employer, although it is a legal requirement to pay SSP to eligible employees. In return the Government is going to provide more help to employees who have been off sick for 4 weeks or more, in the form of a “back to work plan”