The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme is now live

The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme, which repays employers the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid to current or former employees who have been off sick as a result of COVID-19, is now live on the Gov website.

You are eligible to use the scheme as an employer if:

• you’re claiming for an employee who’s eligible for sick pay due to COVID-19
• you have a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started on or before 28 February 2020
• you had fewer than 250 employees on 28 February 2020 across all your PAYE payroll schemes
• you are eligible to receive state aid under the EU Commission Temporary Framework.

The repayment will cover up to two weeks of the applicable rate of SSP, and is payable if a current or former employee was unable to work on or after 13 March 2020 and entitled to SSP due to having COVID-19, self isolating at home or were shielding in line with government guidance. Employees are not required to give you a doctor’s fit note for you to make a claim and the scheme covers all types of employment contracts.

Before making a claim, you must be registered for PAYE online and work out the claim period. Employers who are unable to claim online should have received a letter on an alternative way to claim. If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can find more information and make a claim here. 

What information do I need if I am eligible to make a claim?

• the number of employees you are claiming for
• start and end dates of your claim period
• the total amount of coronavirus-related SSP you have paid to your employees for the claim period – this should not exceed the weekly rate of SSP that is set
• your Government Gateway user ID and password that you got when you registered for PAYE Online
• your employer PAYE reference number
• the contact name and phone number of someone we can contact if we have queries
• your UK bank or building society account details (only provide account details where a Bacs payment can be accepted.

It is important that you keep records of SSP that you’ve paid and want to claim back from HMRC. You can choose how you keep records of your employees’ sickness absence but HMRC may need to see these records if there’s a dispute over payment of SSP.

You must keep the following records for 3 years after the date you receive the payment for your claim:

• the dates the employee was off sick
• which of those dates were qualifying days
• the reason they said they were off work – if they had symptoms, someone they lived with had symptoms or they were shielding
• the employee’s National Insurance number.

Once you’ve submitted your claim, HMRC will check the information, and if valid, the amount you claimed for will be paid into the account you supplied within 6 working days.

You can claim back from both the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme for the same employee but not for the same period of time.

If you are an existing EQ Accounting department payroll client, we can offer support and make these claims on your behalf. Please contact your usual EQ contact to discuss this. 

If you would like more information or support, please contact your usual EQ or EQ contact or get in touch with us by emailing info@eqaccounting.co.uk or call 01382 312140.