I have been asked a question by someone who currently works in the retail sector for a very well known corporate sized company. She is over 60 years of age and is currently receiving her state pension as well as a monthly pay cheque from her employer for the part-time contracted hours she normally works.
Her employer has a sickness and absence policy where for the first three days the employee is not paid for any time off taken. This person has recently had to take 2 weeks certificated sick leave due to an illness and has been told that she is not entitled to any sick pay at all(statutory or employer paid).
Could anyone provide me with any guidance on this as at first sight this appears to be discriminatory on age discrimination grounds? Thanks
Sue Brown
2 Responses
Entitlement to SSP
The eligiblity criteria for SSP is:
*Aged between 16 or over and under 65 (these age limits will be removed from 1 October 2006).
*Sick for at least 4 or more days in a row (including weekends and bank holidays). This is known as a Period of Incapacity for Work.
*Earn, before tax and National Insurance an average of £84.00 a week. This is called the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance Contributions (NIC). The amount you need to earn is lower than the amount when you have to start paying NIC’s.
If you think your employer’s decision to not pay SSP is wrong, contact your local HM Revenue & Customs office to decide the matter. Find your local office at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/enq/index.htm
Age discrimination
It’s quite simple to be honest – if the individual would have been entitled to sick pay if they were 21 then they are entitled to sick pay now.
It makes no difference if this is SSP or Employer paid.