SSP and Waiting days advice

[Eerf123]

Hi,

I have recently had time off work due to a planned surgery. Following my surgery, I was signed off by the Doctor for 3 weeks- sick note etc given to my employer.

My contract states the following re: sickness and absences:
'

1. If you are absent for four or more days by reason of sickness or incapacity,you are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), provided that you have met the requirements above. For the purposes of the SSP scheme the ‘qualifying days’ are Monday to Friday, 10.00 to 18.00.
2. There is no contractual right to payment in respect of periods of absence due to sickness or incapacity. Any such payments are at the discretion of the Company.
3. You will not be entitled to sick pay for sickness/absences of less than four consecutive days.'

I know it was probably stupidity on my part for signing the damn thing, but I am shocked that they won't pay for a day off work. I therefore, now am losing 3 days pay to waiting days, and am on SSP for 3 consecutive weeks which is going to make staying alive extremely difficult.

I guess my question here is, do I have any rights to ask/get paid more money? I'm just so concerned about how I'm going to live.

Any help appreciated.

[atticus]

Is your employer saying that they will not pay SSP for the first 3 days, but only the 4th onwards?

I assume that you have met "the requirements above" as mentioned in paragraph no. 1.

[Eerf123]

Yes. That is correct. I have met the requirements, which is a request of a sick note. Pasted below in full FYI:

Sickness Absence

1. In the event of your absence for any reason you should call your line manager and email the Company Director and HR before 10.00 on the first day of the absence to inform them of the reason for absence. You must do this for every consecutive day you are off sick/injured. You must inform the Company as soon as possible of any change in the date of your expected return to work.
2. A self-certification form should be completed for absences for more than two days and less than four days. The form will be supplied to you.
3. For periods of sickness of four consecutive days or more, you will be required to obtain a Medical Certificate and send this to your line manager. A Medical Certificate should be sent periodically as required by the Company.
4. If you are absent for four or more days by reason of sickness or incapacity,you are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), provided that you have met the requirements above. For the purposes of the SSP scheme the ‘qualifying days’ are Monday to Friday, 10.00 to 18.00.
5. There is no contractual right to payment in respect of periods of absence due to sickness or incapacity. Any such payments are at the discretion of the Company.
6. You will not be entitled to sick pay for sickness/absences of less than four consecutive days.
7. The Company has the right to monitor and record absence levels and reasonsfor absences. Such information will be kept confidential.
8. The Company may require you to undergo a medical examination by a medical practitioner nominated by us at any stage of your employment, and you agree to authorise such medical practitioner to prepare a medical report detailing the results of the examination, which you agree may be disclosed to the Company. The Company will bear the cost of such medical examination. Such an examination will only be requested by the Company where it is reasonable to do so.

And again correct- My employer is refusing to pay anything for the first 3 days as they are stating these are waiting days. It just doesn't seem right to be put straight onto below basic living income. Thanks for the help in advance.

[atticus]

I do not see how your employer can come to that conclusion based on point no 4. This is not constrained in any way.

[ULA]

The rules of SSP state that "If you’re eligible, you’ll be paid SSP for all the days you’re off sick that you normally would have worked, except for the first 3 days". Effectively you have to be off work for 3 days before SSP is payable. The only situation this does not apply is if you have received SSP within the last 8 weeks, and that time already included a 3-day waiting period before you were paid SSP.

It is not the rules of the company it is the rules of SSP that is.

I would suggest that you ask the company whether they can excerise their discretion and make an additional payment above SSP to full salary given this is for an unavoidable planned surgery and consider paying for the 3 "qualifying days". However contractually they are not obliged to.

[atticus]

Thank you - I have learned something.