DEVELOPERS GUIDE TO
STATUTORY SICK PAY (SSP)
TEST DATA AND GUIDANCE FOR DEVELOPERS 2017/2018
Contents
INTRODUCTION
Terms used
ENTITLEMENT TO SSP
Tests 1 and 2: Full SSP entitlement lasts for 28 weeks.
Tests 3 and 4: Disqualifying period due to SMP or Maternity Allowance being paid
Test 5: Part days of sickness
Test 6: SSP not due if period of sickness lasts for less than 4 days
Test 7: SSP not payable if contract of service ends
Test 8: SSP is not payable if the employee dies
Test 9: Employee in legal custody
PAYING SSP
Test 1: SSP payable over tax year end
LINKING PIW’s
Test 1: SSP payable for maximum of 28 weeks in a PIW or series of linked PIW’s
Test 2: SSP not payable if not entitled to SSP in previous linking PIW
Test 3 and 4: PIWs are linked when they are separated by a gap of 56 days.
Test 5: Change of work pattern within linked PIW’s
AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS (AWE) CALCULATIONS
MONTHLY PAID
WEEKLY PAID
2 WEEKLY PAID
4 WEEKLY PAID
IRREGULARLY PAID
COMMON DATA ITEMS AND VALIDATION CHECKS
INTRODUCTION
This document is produced by HMRC’s Software Developers Support Team (SDST) and includes:-
- Test inputs, answers and calculation examples
- SSP rules/guidance and links to Gov.uk
- Technical guidance for developers.
- Validation checks and common data items.
Developers new to SSP should first become familiar with the SSP guidance on Gov.uk before using this document
The tests in this document are not a set of mandatory SSP requirements for payroll software. Developers are free to produce their own solutions based on the requirements described in this document and the SSP guidance on the Gov.uk website. The level of SSP functionality mayvary between payroll software products so some tests will not apply to all products.
The tests in this document use a Monday to Friday work pattern unless otherwise stated and where SSP is payable, it is assumed the relevant qualifying conditions have been met.
There are test inputs and answers for each requirement and where necessary further guidance has been given alongside each test. Links to relevant pages of the Gov.uk website have also been included so you can see where the requirement originates and get further information.
If you have any queries with the information in this document please email the SoftwareDevelopers Support Team.
Terms used
Period of incapacity for work (PIW)
A period of sickness lasting at least four or more days in a row. All days of sickness count towards the total number of days in a PIW, including bank holidays, weekends and non-working days. If there are less than four consecutive days there is no PIW and no SSP is due.
Lower Earnings Limit (LEL)
This is the minimum level that an employee’s Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) must reach in a specific period for them to get SSP.
Qualifying days (QD’s)
These are the only days you can:
• pay SSP for, and
• count as Waiting Days (WDs).
They are usually the days of the week the employee normally works; their contracted working days. They do not have to be the contracted working days if, for example, the workforce operate a varied or alternative working pattern each week. For simplicity they can be the same days each week as the QDs, but there must be agreement with the employer and the workforce or their representative(s) about which days will be QDs. Different QD’s from the actual work pattern cannot be used without agreement with the employees.
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. An employee’s QDs for SSP must be based on the days that are ordinarily worked by that worker. It may be, for example, that a worker’s initial contract states that there shall be one qualifying day a week for SSP purposes. SSP can only be considered on a one day per week basis if that accurately reflects the actual work pattern of the worker. Where, for example, an employee regularly works five days per week, this regular work pattern displaces the original terms of one day per week, and the QDs must be assessed using five days per week. This applies to any employee, including temporary, short term and agency workers.
Waiting Days (WD’s)
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. Where PIWs are linked (see below) and all three WDs have been served in the first PIW, there will be no WDs in any later linked spells of sickness. But, if all three WDs have not been served in the first PIW, any remaining WDs must be served at the beginning of the next linked PIW or series of linked PIWs.
Linking
Periods of Incapacity for Work (PIWs) are linked and treated as one PIW if the gap between them is eight weeks or less. Any subsequent spells of sickness must be four or more days in a row to form another PIW, otherwise there is no subsequent PIW to link with an earlier PIW.
Average Weekly Earnings (AWE)
To get SSP an employee must have AWE of at least the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) in the period of at least eight weeks before the first day they are off work sick.Use the LEL that applies on the first day of sickness.
ENTITLEMENT TO SSP
An employee must meet all the following conditions to get SSP.
• They must be an employee of the employer – and they will need to have done some work under their employment contract before going off sick.
• They must be incapable for work for at least four days or more in a row. This is called a ‘Period of Incapacity for Work’ (PIW). See ‘Terms used’.
• They must have at least one Qualifying Day in each week – these are days they normally work. See ‘Terms used’.
• Their earnings must be at least as much as the lower earnings limit (LEL) for National Insurance contributions (NICs) that applies on the first day of sickness.
•They must provide evidence of their incapacity for SSP
See for other circumstances that can affect entitlement.
SSP can be paid for individual days but there is a maximum entitlement of 28 weeksof SSP in a PIW or series of linked PIW’s. The SSP entitlement used up in a PIW may differ depending on the employees work pattern. There is information and tests later in this document that provide further details about different work patterns including a calculation method to use when the work pattern changes over the course of a series of linking PIW’s.
Where an employee did not qualify for SSP in a first PIW they will not qualify for SSP for any later linked PIW. If an employee is disqualified from receiving SSP at any time during a PIW, no SSP is payable for any subsequent linked PIW.
If SSP is not due it is recommended that the software should either prepare or prompt the user to complete form SSP1. This form shows the reason why SSP is not due and should be given to the employee to support any resulting benefit claim.
Tests 1 and 2: Full SSP entitlement lasts for 28 weeks.
Test Description / Test Data / Expected Result1) SSP is not payable after 28 weeks have been paid in a previous linking sick absence. / Sick 06/04/2017 - 23/10/17
(above PIW includes 3 waiting days at the start)
Sick 26/10/17 – 03/11/17 / Software does not allow payment of SSP from 26/10/17.
SSP1 produced or user prompted to complete SSP1.
2) SSP is no longer payable after 28 weeks of SSP have been paid within the same absence. / Sick 05/04/2017 - 26/10/2017 / Last day for payment of SSP is 20/10/2017.
SSP1 produced or user prompted to complete SSP1.
Tests 3 and 4: Disqualifying period due to SMP or Maternity Allowance being paid
Test Description / Test Data / Expected Result3) SSP is not payable if employee is within the 39 week disqualifying period relating to pregnancy. This test is to check that SSP is not payable when an employee who is on maternity leave and receiving SMP falls sick within the 39 week disqualifying period. / EWC 05/11/2017
SMP from 17/09/2017
Sick from 25/09/2017 - 29/09/2017 / Software does not allow payment of SSP for 25/09/2017 - 29/09/2017 because it lies within the 39 week disqualifying period applicable for SMP.
SSP1 produced or user prompted to complete SSP1.
4) SSP is not payable if employee is within the 39 week disqualifying period relating to pregnancy. This test is to check that SSP is not payable when an employee who has received SMP decides to return to work and then falls sick within the 39 week disqualifying period. / EWC 05/11/2017
SMP from 17/09/2017
Employee returns to work 25/09/2017
but falls sick from 27/09/2017 - 03/10/2017 / Software does not allow payment of SSP for 27/09/2017 - 03/10/2017 because it lies within the 39 week disqualifying period applicable for SMP.
SSP1 produced or user prompted to complete SSP1.
Test 5: Part days of sickness
An employee is deemed to have been incapable of work for the whole day if they arrive for work but do not do any work before they go sick.
But if an employee has done even a minute’s work, that day cannot be treated as a day of incapacity for SSP purposes.
Test Description / Test Data / Expected Result5) Only complete days of sickness count towards SSP / The employee does some work and then goes sick at lunch time
02/10/2017 (half day) - 06/10/2017 / Software does not allow 02/10/2017 to be counted as a qualifying day for SSP.
SSP payable for 06/10/2017 only.
Test 6: SSP not due if period of sicknesslasts for less than 4 days
Test Description / Test Data / Expected Result6) SSP does not apply to spells of sickness of less than 4 days as no PIW is formed. / Sick 04/10/2017 - 06/10/2017 / Software does not allow SSP for this period.
Test 7: SSP not payable if contract of service ends
See link below for rules about specific types of employment such as agency and casual workers.
Test Description / Test Data / Expected Result7) SSP is not payable if the contract of employment with you has ended or been brought to an end / Contract ends - 05/10/2017
Sick 06/10/2017 - 13/10/2017 / Software does not allow SSP for this absence.
Test 8: SSP is not payable if the employee dies
Test Description / Test Data / Expected ResultSSP is not payable if the employee dies / Sick certificate received for period05/10/17 – 13/10/17
Date of death
09/10/17 / Last day for payment of SSP is
09/10/17
Test 9: Employee in legal custody
Test Description / Test Data / Expected ResultSSP is not payable when the employee is taken into legal custody. / Sick certificate received for period 02/10/2017 - 13/10/2017
Employee taken into legal custody 11/10/2017 / Last day for payment of SSP is 10/10/2017
The following links give details of other circumstances when there may be no entitlement to SSP
PAYING SSP
For the 17/18 tax year the weekly rate is £89.35.A daily rate of SSP is needed to pay SSP for part of a week. The daily rate of SSP is the weekly ratedivided by the number of Qualifying Days (QDs) in that week. The daily rate calculation should be truncated at 4 decimal places. See table below.
Unrounded daily rates / Number of QDs in week / Number of days to pay1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7
£12.7642 / 7 / £12.77 / £25.53 / £38.30 / £51.06 / £63.83 / £76.59 / £89.35
£14.8916 / 6 / £14.90 / £29.79 / £44.68 / £59.57 / £74.46 / £89.35
£17.8700 / 5 / £17.87 / £35.74 / £53.61 / £71.48 / £89.35
£22.3375 / 4 / £22.34 / £44.68 / £67.02 / £89.35
£29.7833 / 3 / £29.79 / £59.57 / £89.35
£44.6750 / 2 / £44.68 / £89.35
£89.3500 / 1 / £89.35
To calculate the amount of SSP to pay multiply the number of QD’s bythe appropriate daily rate and round any fractions of a penny up to the next penny above.
If the employees QD’s vary the calculations will need to be done separately for each week carrying forward any waiting days if necessary.
SeeTest 5 in Linking PIW’s for examples of paying SSP over more than one pay period and different work patterns.
Records employers must keep
All records must be kept for at least three years after the end of the tax year to which they relate. Employers must keep:
• All dates of employee sickness lasting four or more days in a row, including for employees who are under 16 years old,
• a record of the payment dates and the amount paid during each PIW,
• the date the pay period began,
• a record of any unpaid SSP with reasons.
Form SSP2 is a Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) record sheet It is not a mandatory form but could be used as a guide for any SSP records provided by the software.
Test 1: SSP payable over tax year end
Unlike the other statutory payments SSP has a daily rate and can be split over the tax year end as shown in the test below. For the other statutory payments entitlement is always in full weeks so the method shown below would not apply to them.
Test Description / Test Data / Expected ResultSick absences that overlap a change in the rate of SSP should have the old and new rates applied to the appropriate periods. / Sick 07/03/2017 - 07/04/2017
Period 07/03/2017 - 31/03/2017 = 16 days
SSP @ £17.69 = 283.04
Period 01/04/2017 - 05/04/2017 = 3 days
SSP @ £17.69 = £53.07
Period 06/04/2017 - 07/04/2017 = 2 days
SSP @ £17.87= £35.74 / Software calculates SSP of £283.04for March
Software calculates SSP of £88.81for April
LINKING PIW’s
Periods of Incapacity for Work (PIWs) are linked and treated as one PIW if the gap between them is 56 days or less. Any subsequent spells of sickness must be four or more days in a row to form another PIW, otherwise there is no subsequent PIW to link with an earlier PIW.
Sick absences that are not PIW’s i.e. less than 4 days long should be ignored. SSP only applies to PIW’s. All days of sickness count towards the total number of days in a PIW, including bank holidays, weekends and non-working days. If there are less than four consecutive days there is no PIW and you need take no action regarding SSP. SSP can only be paid where a Period of incapacity for Work (PIW) has been formed.
SSP cannot be paid during the 39 week Maternity Pay Period (MPP). This is called the SSP disqualifying period. Where a PIW started before, or during the disqualifying period, SSP will not become payable until there has been a break of at least eight weeks after the end of that PIW, that is, until a new, unlinked, PIW is formed outside of disqualifying period.
Tests for linking dates are given below but you can also use the following tables on Gov.uk to check your software is working correctly.
Test 1: SSP payable for maximum of 28 weeks in a PIW or series of linked PIW’s
Test Description / Test Data / Expected ResultSSP is not payable after 28 weeks of SSP is paid (including linking periods) / Sick 10/04/2017 - 13/04/2017
(1 day SSP paid)
Sick 01/05/2017 - 09/11/2017
Sick 04/12/2017 – Open / SSP not payable from 04/12/2017
SSP1 Produced or user prompted to complete SSP1
Test 2: SSP not payable if not entitled to SSP in previous linking PIW
Test Description / Test Data / Expected ResultSSP is not payable if the employee was not entitled to SSP in a previous linking PIW / Sick 09/08/2017 - 15/08/2017 (but record that employee is not entitled to SSP)
Linking sick absence 13/09/2017 – 18/09/2017 / Software does not allow payment of SSP for 13/09/2017 - 18/09/2017
SSP1 produced or user prompted to complete SSP1.
If, for example, an employee qualifies for SSP in the first PIW, but their earnings fall below the LEL in a second linked PIW, then entitlement to SSP will continue during the second PIW regardless of the fall in earnings.
Test 3 and 4: PIWs are linked when they are separated by a gap of 56 days.
PIW’s are linked when they are separated by a gap of 56 days or less.
Exclude the start date of the latest PIW and exclude the end date of the previous PIW i.e. count the no. of days in the gap between the PIW’s. So PIW’s link if:-
PIW end date (n) - PIW start date (n+1) ≤ 56 days + 2
PIW end date (n) above is the last day of the previous PIW
PIW start date (n+1) above is the first day of the next PIW
Test Description / Test Data / Expected ResultPIWs should not be linked when they are separated by 57 days. / Sick 28/07/2017 - 02/08/2017 (1 day SSP paid)
Sick 29/09/2017 - 03/10/2017. No SSP is paid in the 2nd absence because they are separated by 57 days. This absence forms a PIW but the waiting days must be served again. / Software does not allow payment of SSP for 29/09/2017 - 03/10/2017
This absence consists of 3 waiting days and 2 non-qualifying days
PIWs should be linked when they are separated by 56 days or less. / Sick 28/07/2017 - 02/08/2017 (1 day SSP paid)
Sick 28/09/2017 - 03/10/2017 (4 days SSP paid). / Software allows payment of 4 days SSP for 28/09/2017 - 03/10/2017
Test 5: Change of work pattern within linked PIW’s
The SSP entitlement used up in a PIW may differ depending on the employeeswork pattern. An employee who works 2 days per week and is paid SSP for these 2 days uses up 1 week of SSP entitlement. An employee who is paid SSP for the same 2 days but works 5 days per week will only use up 0.4 weeks entitlement.