Statutory Sick Pay Rebate scheme (SSPRS)

The government is reintroducing the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS).

This will be a temporary scheme to support small-medium sized UK employers (employers with fewer than 250 employees), facing heightened levels of sickness absence due to COVID-19.

The SSPRS will refund small and medium-sized employers’ COVID-related SSP costs for up to two weeks per employee. This two-week limit will be reset so an employer will be able to claim up to two weeks per employee regardless of whether they have claimed under the previous scheme for that employee.

Employers can claim the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) they have paid to any employee who has been off work for COVID-related reasons, from 21 December 2021 onwards.

Employers must satisfy the following eligibility criteria to claim:

1. They are UK-based.
2. They employed fewer than 250 employees as of 30 November 2021.
3. They had a PAYE payroll system as off 30 November 2021.
4. They have already paid their employees’ COVID-related SSP.

Those who are eligible will be able to make a claim through HMRC from mid-January onwards, using this website:

Claim back Statutory Sick Pay paid to your employees due to coronavirus (COVID-19) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Employers must keep records of SSP that they’ve paid and want to claim back from HMRC. They must keep the following records for 3 years after the date they receive the payment for their claim:

• the dates the employee was off sick
• which of those dates were qualifying days (i.e. the days an employee normally works)
• the reason they said they were off work due to COVID19
• the employee’s National Insurance number

The government will keep the duration of the scheme under review and more guidance will be published shortly.