The government stated today that it would provide extra assistance to small and medium-sized businesses to help pay the expense of Statutory Sick Pay for workers who are away from work owing to the Coronavirus.
Employers with less than 250 workers will benefit from the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS), which will reimburse them for the cost of Statutory Sick Pay for Covid-related absences of up to two weeks per employee.
Employers must be headquartered in the United Kingdom, have less than 250 workers, and have a payroll plan in place by the end of November 2021, as well as having already paid SSP to employees. Employees who previously benefited from an earlier version of the plan are eligible to file claims.
We assume that SSPRS claims may be submitted in the usual manner, but we await more clarity.
The program begins today and claims may be filed beginning in mid-January 2022, with the plan’s termination date being maintained under review.
In the interim, we would ask impacted employers to keep records in support of a claim for three years after receiving a payment under the program, and in a format that can be supplied to HMRC, which are as follows:
the dates the employee was off from work, which of those days were qualifying days, and the reason they claimed they were absent due to COVID-19
the National Insurance number of the employee
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This article is designed to inform rather than advise, and it is based on current law and practice. Taxpayers’ situations differ, therefore if you believe the information given is useful, please contact us before implementing it. We shall assume no responsibility for any financial damage caused if you do or do not take action as a consequence of reading this material before getting our formal endorsement.