Statutory Sick Pay, Maternity Pay, Paternity Pay and Adoption Pay Rates
These statutory pay rates are for the period 2008-2009. For the most up to date figures see the Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay Rates – 2009-2010
Please note that all the changes to rates announced below are subject to Parliamentary Approval.
Statutory Sick Pay
The weekly rate for days of sick absence on or after, 6 April 2008 is:
| Average weekly earnings of | Weekly Rate | |
| SSP | £90.00 or more | £75.40 |
Statutory Sick Pay Daily Rates
Information about the SSP daily rates for 2008-2009 tax year is given in the Employer’s Help Book E14, "What to do if your employee is sick", for use from April 2008.
SSP recovery under the Percentage Threshold Scheme (PTS)
Unless an employer qualifies under the PTS they cannot recover any of the SSP they pay to their employees.
To check whether an employer qualifies they must compare their total SSP liability for their whole workforce in the tax month, with 13% of their total gross Class 1 NIC liability for the same tax month. Class 1A and Class 1B NICs should not be included.
They can recover the whole of the amount by which their total SSP liability exceeds the 13% of gross Class 1 NICs figure.
Statutory Maternity Pay
The amount of SMP paid to an employee for payment weeks starting on or after Sunday 6 April 2008 is:
| First 6 weeks of payment | The earnings-related rate, which is 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings |
| Remaining weeks | The lesser of the standard rate which is £117.18 a week, or the earnings-related rate, which is 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings |
For payment weeks starting on or after, 6 April 2008 the weekly rate of SPP is:
| For payment weeks starting on, or after 6 April 2008 | The lesser of £117.18 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings |
Statutory Adoption Pay
For payment weeks starting on or after, 6 April 2008 the weekly rate of SAP is:
| For payment weeks starting on, or after 6 April 2008 | The lesser of £117.18 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings |
Amount employers are entitled to recover or apply for funding for.
From 6 April 2008 employers who do not qualify for Small Employer’s Relief (SER) can get 92% of the SMP/SPP/SAP paid to their employees. This is the same rate as last year.
From 6 April 2008 employers who qualify for SER can recover 100% of the SMP/SPP/SAP paid to their employees plus 4.5% compensation. This is the same rate as last year.
For the 2008-2009 tax year a ‘small employer’ is an employer who paid (or was liable to pay) total gross Class 1 NICs of £45,000 or less in the individual employee’s qualifying tax year. This is the same threshold as last year.
