Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme is reintroduced for SMEs

As part of the latest support package for businesses affected by COVID-19, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak MP, announced regulations to re-introduce the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme across the United Kingdom.

Mr Sunak announced on 21 December 2021 that the Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Funding of Employers’ Liabilities) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/5) will come into force from 14 January 2022 and will allow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to recover up to two weeks’ Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), namely £192.70, for each employee where:

• The employee’s incapacity is due to COVID-19, including those in self isolation due to possible COVID-19 infection; and
• The employee’s period of incapacity falls on or after 21 December 2021, including where the period of incapacity commenced prior to that date.

The above regulations define an ‘eligible employer’ as:

• An employer with fewer than 250 employees enrolled on their PAYE scheme, as at 30 November 2021; and
• An employer who is not in difficulty (under Article 2 of the General Block Exemption Regulation), as at 31 December 2019.

The scheme will end on 24 March 2022; claims can be submitted to HMRC up until said expiry date.

Full details of Statutory Instrument 2022/5 can be found here.

We recommend seeking legal advice where there is any uncertainty regarding eligibility of the above scheme.