Please find today’s Coronavirus update below.
Eligibility for Statutory Sick Pay
New regulations have been made and come into force today regarding statutory sick pay for employees who self-isolate in accordance with advice from Public Health England, NHS National Services Scotland or Public Health Wales. The new Regulations mean that someone who self-isolates based on such advice will be considered to be incapable of work and therefore will qualify (subject to eligibility) for SSP.
There are, as yet, no Regulations covering the Government’s other proposals to have SSP payable from day one of absence, to enable small employers to reclaim up to 14 days of SSP or to dispense with the current fit note scheme for absence in excess of seven days. We will provide an update as soon as possible following any further developments.
PM Statement on Coronavirus: 12th March 2020
In yesterday’s statement, the Prime Minister confirmed that anyone suffering from a new, continuous cough, or a high temperature, should stay at home for at least seven days. Such employees are likely to be considered to be incapable of work as they are showing symptoms of illness (even if they would not normally have taken sickness absence for this reason) and therefore would (subject to eligibility) qualify for SSP. However, in any event, it appears that the Public Health England advice has been updated to reflect this and therefore such employees are likely to be covered by the above new Regulations in any event.
