Sick pay

Q: I had three days off work earlier this month, and my employer has said they don't pay sickness for the first three days. Can they do this?

A: Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is only payable from the fourth day of sickness, so your employer is right unless your employment contract says you have an entitlement to sick pay greater than that offered by the statutory scheme.

However, if you are off sick again within eight weeks of the end of the sick leave, the two periods of sickness are "linked": the first day of the new sick leave will be counted as the fourth day of sickness, so you will be paid for it.

For more details, see the LRD booklet State benefits and tax credits 2005.