HR advice please re returning to work after sick

[readallaboutit]

I am returning to work on a phased basis following a period of sick leave after injuring my back. My contract allows 30 days sick leave per calendar year and my employer has paid me for the whole of January and February therefore exceeding this. I normally work 40 hours per week but will be returning initially at 3 hours per day and gradually increasing this back up to 40 hours a week. My employer has advised going forward that they intend to pay me only for the hours I work, is this the norm or is there another way to proceed? I am also unsure how this will affect my NI contributions, pension and holiday accrual so would appreciate any advice regarding this. Thank you in advance for any advice you may be able to give me.

“Another way to proceed” would be going back on more hours, or staying off longer until you can do that.

Your pension and NI will be proportionately affected. In terms of holiday, you’ll continue to accrue it as normal.

Thanks flowery, I agree staying off longer is an option, but if my fit note says I am fit for work 3 hours a day I assume then that I wouldn't be entitled to SSP and would therefore be unpaid?

I had the same. Normal working day 6 hours, I did phased return of 3 hours but my company paid me for the 6, not sure if this was paid as special leave, but I certainly didn't miss out on any pay.

Interesting. I imagine your employer could probably refuse you SSP for any days you are signed as being fit for work, yes.

It’s an interesting question because if a phased return or other adjustments are refused by the employer, and the employee therefore stays off sick, SSP would still apply. GP or OH recommendations aren’t a legal obligation, but if your employer has agreed the recommendations and you haven’t, if your employer were inclined to stop SSP they probably could.

But in any case, I imagine you’d be better-off returning 3 hours a day than staying at home on SSP?

How long is the phased return supposed to last?

@readallaboutit

Thanks flowery, I agree staying off longer is an option, but if my fit note says I am fit for work 3 hours a day I assume then that I wouldn't be entitled to SSP and would therefore be unpaid?

Statutory is less than £100/week - even if you are paid minimum wage you are still going to get paid more for returning 15 hours a week. Do you think your SSP should be worked out per hour? What does your staff handbook say?

Flowery, the length of the phased return is uncertain as it depends on my progress healthwise but I imagine that I will increase by an hour or 2 over the next few weeks until I'm back to 8 hours.
Work are very keen for me to come back so are happy with the 3 hours initially

Mydogruns, I don't have a copy of the handbook but I imagine this situation is not covered, small company not had this issue before to deal with. When I was advised of their intention re pay I was asked to think about it and come back if I had any questions or queries or was unhappy with the suggestion.

I don't know if there us an alternative that I could propose to them?

Cao77, that would be the ideal situation for me but my company is concerned that they would be setting a precedent for other employees and because my return to full hours is uncertain, as its dependent on my progress healthwise, I think they do not want to do this

I would ask them to explain what will happen with tax, NI and pension, and how holidays will be accrued.

Palavah yes thank you I will be doing that . I think it may also be useful if I ask my physio to give my employer an indication of when I will be able to return fully

@readallaboutit

Mydogruns, I don't have a copy of the handbook but I imagine this situation is not covered, small company not had this issue before to deal with. When I was advised of their intention re pay I was asked to think about it and come back if I had any questions or queries or was unhappy with the suggestion.

I don't know if there us an alternative that I could propose to them?

If the concern is you want to be paid more, then the only other option would be to use holiday to top up. Some employers do top up pay for those on a phased return, but they certainly don’t have to, and if they’ve already given you two months on full pay exceeding their normal obligations they may feel anything more isn’t doable.

I would ask your employer for an OH referral to support the GP recomendation of returning for 3 hours. Do you have a HR contact you can speak to?

@readallaboutit

Cao77, that would be the ideal situation for me but my company is concerned that they would be setting a precedent for other employees and because my return to full hours is uncertain, as its dependent on my progress healthwise, I think they do not want to do this

That makes sense then. If it was 3 hours a day for week one, then 5 hours a day for a couple of weeks, then full time, they would probably be more likely to make an exception. An open-ended arrangement means at some point they’d have to say no more.

Cao77 no HR contact unfortunately no hence using the collective wisdom of mumsnet!

Flowery yes I think you are right , they may make an exception if they have more confidence in when i will be back on a f/t basis. Using holiday is also an option, thank you .

So, basically, you have exceeded the usual company full pay sick.

It would be perfectly reasonable to pay you on a 'part time' basis for the hours you are now going to work.

Being paid full time pay for part time hours would not fly in most companies - because the employers do of course have to think of the effect on the other people they employ.

It is good that they are offering this route.

A lot of other small companies would dismiss on the grounds of health.

Very best of luck, OP.

With a phased return you can be regarded as off sick for the hours not worked, so could be paid sick pay for those hours and your usual pay for the hours you work.

Where I work, you have the option to use holiday for a phased return if you have exhausted your sick pay allowance, so it might be worth exploring this.

@MumUndone

With a phased return you can be regarded as off sick for the hours not worked, so could be paid sick pay for those hours and your usual pay for the hours you work.

OP has run out of company sick pay and SSP is only payable for days no work is done.

Yes, SSP is not an option - you cannot get SSP unless you are off work for the whole day, and only if you are off work for more than three consecutive working days.

As a pp says, your employer has already gone beyond the usual company sick pay, they are unlikely to want to set a precedent of paying you full pay for part time hours. You could make up your pay using annual leave, or take the reduction.

Thanks everyone, I really do appreciate the time taken to reply, you've been really helpful. I think I will look to use some holiday to help make up the shortfall until I am back f/t.

I think this is reasonable, you have been paid extra sick pay to what you were entitled to. Now you will either have to take the financial hit, work the hours or use holidays to top you up. Do you have the allowance? Assuming you have the last 2 months allocation that will be about 6 full days so could be spread over the next 2 weeks if you are working half days?

”you cannot get SSP unless you are off work for the whole day, and only if you are off work for more than three consecutive working days.”

It doesn’t matter in this case as the OP is reducing daily hours rather than number of days, but the 3-day ‘waiting period’ doesn’t apply for linked periods of sickness.

@flowery

”you cannot get SSP unless you are off work for the whole day, and only if you are off work for more than three consecutive working days.”

It doesn’t matter in this case as the OP is reducing daily hours rather than number of days, but the 3-day ‘waiting period’ doesn’t apply for linked periods of sickness.

My understanding is she still wouldn't get paid ssp for any single days off even in a linked period of sickness? She would still need to be off for four days and would then receive ssp for all four days, no unpaid waiting days.

”My understanding is she still wouldn't get paid ssp for any single days off even in a linked period of sickness? She would still need to be off for four days and would then receive ssp for all four days, no unpaid waiting days.”

Your understanding is wrong I’m afraid. The whole point of linked periods of sickness is that they count as one period, therefore the waiting days only need to be served once. Otherwise it’s penalising someone who thinks they are better, comes back and then goes off again.

I hate to link to Croner but this guide is quite good.

app.croneri.co.uk/topics/statutory-sick-pay/indepth

@flowery you stuck with having to work with Croner too, huh, :)