Sick Pay Entitlement

[BonnieGirl4]

Hi
I am currently on sick leave due to work related stress, My works policy states I am entitled to 40 days full pay for qualifying absence. I work 4 days a week so I understood that this would cover 10 weeks.
I have received a letter on the weekend telling me my entitlement comes to an end on the 25th of March, my sick note went in on the 16th of February. I am totally confused and very hopeful that someone on here will have an idea regarding this, I have googled till I am blue in the face and spoken to union and ACAS and cannot seem to get a definitive answer in terms of what the qualifying absence refers to, If anyone out there has any knowledge of this I would be really grateful, TIA

I think you should contact your HR department and ask for clarification of the terms.

It is a very small company, no HR dept, managed by a board of trustees. I have emailed, asking for clarification, they said they will get back to me tomorrow. I am off work due to my line manager making false accusations against me, she took disciplinary action and I am in the process of appealing this, had my hearing last week and awaiting their decision, the line manager in question is also responsible for the pay, so I am just trying to get my information straight as I don't have faith in policies being followed fairly

sounds like it has been paid pro rata. You say you work 4 days - are you 0.8 FTE?

Hi

Yes, I believe so they work a 5 day week and I work 4 days, the policy just states for the first 40 days of qualifying absence - full salary. I know when you complete SSP on Sage payroll qualifying days are the days you work, the policy does not say anything about pro rata

Does your contract say anything about sick pay, or anything anywhere indicating that benefits are pro rata?

A lot of sick pay things seem to be calculated in terms of calendar days rather than working days (eg need for a sick note after 7 days, entitlement to SSP after 4 days) so I am not sure on this one.

I’d suggest ringing CAB for advice after speaking to HR.

Thank you everyone, they have confirmed that the sick pay is being paid pro-rata however I cannot see this anywhere in policies etc . my work place operates 5 days per week and I work 4, my understanding is that Sat and Sun are not classed as qualifying days, so even with the pro-rata I feel 40 days would cover 8 weeks? is that right? I have emailed to ask for a breakdown as I have worked it out using the 7 days, the 5 days and the 4 days and none of them match the date I have been given.

If it's 40 days pro rata, then for you it would cover 8 weeks, as 40 days would cover 8 weeks for full time staff.

That’s exactly what I thought. Oh well have challenged their findings just have to wait for a reply. Thank you

I also agree - you are entitled to a total of 32 days as the pro-rata'd 40 days given to FT staff.

As you work 4 days per week, it equates to 8 of your 4 day weeks.

If they state that your final day of sickness entitlement is 26 March, and your period of sickness started wk comm 29 Jan then counting forward 8 weeks is 26 March.

Im not sure about your 17 Feb sick note date in your OP - are you saying that was your first week of sickness - I'm not clear...

Have you taken any sick days prior to this period of sickness?

And to Violet's point, does your sickness year start on 1 January each year?

Hi. No it’s the financial year. I have had a response that states she has pro rata’d over 7 days a week which I am at a loss to understand and that my sickness for the whole year has been taken into consideration. She has stated that it is in our policies and that they are attached in the email however no attachment. I have now requested the attachment but I have the policies and it is not stated in them

I believe there may have been the odd day. Not consecutive though. I originally asked her to inform me of my previous sickness as I am not in work to access my time sheets but she has not done this

Hi I called in sick on the 15th of February and provided a sick note from the 16th and aside from the February 15th have had one days sick in the last year.
I just received an email saying it was a typing error and pro rata is over 5 days and the date has now changed to the 10th of April! Not exactly a typing error a 5 instead of a 7! When the date has also changed.