Sick Pay - a staff member is going to be off for a while- Can we re-coup anything?

[RiaParkinson]

Our nurse has broken her finger ( badly) and has been told not to return to work for 4-6 weeks

She is our only nurse so we will need to get an agency nurse for £100 a day plus agency fees

We will also still be paying our nurse full pay

This has NOT come at a good time - is there anything we could claim ? who off?

Where to start?

We have been very lucky that we have not come across anything like this before....

you'll claim ssp then won't you?

OK - you can claim Statutory Sick Pay from the government for her - but it will be at a much lower rate than her wages

How long is she entitled to full pay while sick?

As a small business I can't afford sick pay - so my staff only get SSP

So when a member of staff is sick (for more than 3 days) I use the calculator on the HMRC disc to calculate how much SSP they get, then I can claim some (o nearly all) of that back from HMRC

here

Do you have a contract with her saying you will pay her in full? If not then you do not have to.

As for re-couping costs, she is entitled to SSP. If you have to pay her in full at least that little bit should help.

thankyou all so much

we will pay her full pay even if it straps us i think

she is very good

will check out the links now - anything will help

Be careful - if it isn't in her contract then whatever you decide for her, you will have to pay for else as it sets a precedent

hmm good thinking Katymac

She is our only nurse and only fulltimer...

I am sure she would never malinger although some staff members may - certainly previous ones.... am thinking they may ll expect the same treatment?

I think that legally you do for one employee you are required to do for all your staff otherwise it is discrimination

i see

the ssp business looks to confusing

am i right in thinking we can claim back the ssp bit?

On Ruddynoah link there is a thingie calculates the SSP

Then you take that info and put it into another thingie which tells you how much you get back from HMRC - when I did it I stopped paying Tax & NI to them until I had recouped the amount

ooh you are clever

Thanks so much for the help

it is a minefield isn't it!

Do check your contract carefully - mine says only SSP is payable

There are 3 days when she gets nothing - then the calculator works it all out & you claim it back off HMRC

We're SSP only as well, Katy.

Not possible to do otherwise, is it?

i am worried she would be insulted with ssp

Did she sign the contract?

What does it say?

Most small business owners I know pay SSP only.

If the business is such that a staff member needs to be covered ie. Another person can't take on the extra workload, it seems reasonable.

What does her contract say?

just checking with dp what contract says......

she doesn't have one....

I think that is a major problem for you long-term

Have you paid sick pay to anyone else?

Yes

If they are off we have always still paid them in full - in 6 years though there have only been a few days....

Are the staff members that you have paid in full when off sick still with you? Or were they previous staff members?

If you usually pay full pay to existing staff and then don't for another you will fall foul of the 'Custom and Practice' rules, AFAIK.

no still here.... is that not good

DP has gone stern and said there is no way he is not paying dn our dear nurse (!) anything but full pay

I said well all future sickness will be treated the same - he said fine!

You need to look here

You are legally required to provide staff with a statement of terms of employment (or something)

If there is nothing in writing & you have previously paid sick pay then you may be committed to do so now

Tread very carefully - I would get some proper advise, you may have to pay for it - but you could be in big trouble as she should have a contract and you are vunerable

i am surprised they do not have contract as we bought business as going concern from a bigger company

think i need to take advice!

Thankyou all