Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme portal now available

Who can claim the rebate?

The scheme is available for claims to be made for current or former employees. Employers can use the scheme if:

• you're claiming for an employee who's eligibile for sick pay due to coronavirus
• 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

What evidence do you need?

Employees do not have to give you a doctor's fit note for you to make a claim but you can ask for either an isolation note from NHS 111 or the NHS/GP letter confirming their shielding status.

What can you claim?

The repayment will cover up to 2 weeks SSP starting from the first day of sickness, if an employee is unable to work because they:

• have coronavirus symptoms
• cannot work because they are self-isolating because someone they live with has symptoms
• are shielding and have a letter from the NHS or a GP telling them to stay at home for at least 12 weeks

An employer can claim for periods of sickness starting on or after:

• 13 March 2020 - if the employee had coronavirus symptoms or is self-isolating because someone they live with has symptoms
• 16 April 2020 - if your employee was shielding because of coronavirus

What records must be kept?

Records must be kept of SSP that have been paid and are being claimed back from HMRC and HMRC may need to see these if there is any dispute over payment of SSP. The following must be kept 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

The employer should print/save the state aid declaration (from the claim summary) and keep this until 31 December 2024.

Check if you can claim coronavirus related SSP

To see if you can make a claim for the coronavirus SSP rebate, read the full Government guidance here. 

How to claim

Make the claim from today using the HMRC online portal. Once checked and if valid, the money will be paid into the nominated account within 6 working days. HMRC will check claims and will apply penalties if employers provide false or misleading information to benefit from the scheme.