Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme Closure

The Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme will close on 17 March 2022. Essentially, employers will no longer be able to claim back Statutory Sick Pay for any of their employees' covid-related absences or subsequent isolation that occur post this date.

Employers have until 24 March 2022 to submit any new claims for absence periods up to 17 March 2022 or to amend any pre-existing claims.

Employers have up to and including 24 March 2022 to claim up to two weeks of SSP for each employee who received it due to Covid-19 or self-isolation, provided that they have a PAYE payroll scheme that was founded and began prior to 30 November 2021; and you have fewer than 250 employees on 30 November 2021 across all PAYE/ Payroll Schemes.

Following this date, the government have confirmed that there will be a return to the normal/pre-pandemic SSP rules. Employers should revert to paying SSP from the fourth qualifying day their employee is off work, regardless of their reason for absence.

Employers can make more than one claim per employee but may not claim for more than a total of two weeks. The maximum number of employees that an employer may claim for is the number they had across PAYE Schemes on 30 November 2021. You can only claim for employees who were off work on or after 21 December 2021 if they had Covid-19, had Covid-19 symptoms or were self-isolating because someone they lived with had symptoms.