The Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Funding of Employers’ Liabilities) Regulations 2020 come into in force from 26 May 2020. The Regulations provide for eligible small and medium-size employers to apply to HMRC for a refund of the cost of paying SSP to their employees, up to a certain threshold, where an employee’s incapacity for work is related to coronavirus. Refunds are payable in respect of periods of incapacity for work where the first day of incapacity for work related to coronavirus arose on or after 13 March 2020. ‘Eligible employers’ are defined in Reg 4(1), i.e. who (a) on 28th February 2020, had fewer than 250 employees enrolled in all PAYE schemes operated by the employer; and (b) on 31st December 2019, was not already in difficulty (see Reg 4(2) for definition of ‘difficulty’). The maximum amount which an eligible employer may receive as a refund in relation to a single employee is £191.70 and the total amount is £191.70 multiplied by the number of employees enrolled in their PAYE schemes on 28 February 2020.
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