Sick pay for employees affected by Coronavirus

According to the government, up to a fifth of the UK’s workforce may be off sick during the peak of the Coronavirus epidemic. It is therefore important to know what your employees are entitled to be paid in these circumstances.

What should employers pay employees who are off work with symptoms of Coronavirus?

If an employee is unable to come to work because they are suffering with symptoms of Coronavirus, they should be paid in line with your sickness policy, in the same way as any other period of sickness. Firstly, you will need to check whether the employee is entitled to enhanced sick pay by looking at their contract of employment. If there is no contractual right to sick pay, the employee will be entitled to receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), provided they earn an average of £118 per week.

SSP is currently paid at a rate of £94.25 per week, for up to 28 weeks. Whilst SSP is usually paid from the fourth day of sickness absence, the government has recently announced that it will be introducing emergency legislation to allow SSP to be claimed from day one. This will apply retrospectively from 13 March 2020.

What if an employee is self-isolating but hasn’t been diagnosed with Coronavirus?

The current public health advice is that those living with someone who has symptoms should self-isolate for 14 days. With effect from 13 March 2020, employees who are self-isolating, even if they themselves do not have symptoms, will also be entitled to receive SSP. 

What evidence should employers request from an employee who is off work due to Coronavirus?

Testing for Coronavirus is now limited to those who are seriously ill and have been admitted to hospital. It is therefore unlikely that your employee will be able to find out for certain whether they have Coronavirus. The government has strongly advised that employers use their discretion around the need for medical evidence for absences related to Coronavirus.

The law states that medical evidence is not required for the first seven days of sickness. Thereafter, employees would usually be required to contact their GP to obtain a sicknote, but this is not practical in the circumstances. Your employees can now obtain isolation notes online from the NHS, which will provide evidence that they have been advised to self-isolate due to Coronavirus, either because they have symptoms, or live with someone who does.

I have heard that the government will contribute towards sick pay, is this true?

The government has announced a number of new measures to support businesses during the period of disruption caused by Coronavirus. This includes a scheme to allow small and medium sized employers (with less than 250 employees as of 28 February 2020) to reclaim up to two weeks’ expenditure for any employee who has been paid SSP as a result of Coronavirus. This scheme is still being developed and the government will be working with employers over the coming months to set up the repayment mechanism. Further information will become available once this legislation has been passed.

This is a summary of the rules that currently apply, however the government advice for employers is continuously being updated as the situation develops. We would therefore suggest keeping an eye on acas.org.uk/coronavirus which is updated regularly.

Coronavirus Employment Scheme

The Government have now announced a Furlough Scheme. For more information on what this means, see our Employer’s Furlough Package post.