Sick pay deducted for being off ONE day

[CW1]

Hi,
Am technically still on my probationary period at work and was sick for 1 shift after having worked there for 17/18 weeks (1st time off sick from any job in the last 6 yrs !). On this month's payslip there's a Sick Pay Adjustment of around minus £80. My T&Cs say while I'm on probation, for the first 28 weeks of sickness, I'm eligible to apply for SSP.
Just had a quick look online and looks like you can't apply for SSP if the sickness was for less than 4 days, plus it'd only be about £79 a WEEK anyway.
I'll obviously try speak to someone at work tomorrow but meantime, to calm me down (I'm fuming !!), does anyone know if I just have to lose the £80 ?

[jb190281]

Unless youre on a contract which pretty much states if youre not in, you dont get paid, I would imagine youll be ok. have a word with someone in HR

[factor-fiction]

It depends on the contractual terms but from what you say you may find the employer won't pay. The employer has said if you are off sick you can apply for SSP which I assume means they won't pay your sick pay. The fact that you won't be succesful in a a claim for SSP on this occasion maybe regarded by the employer as your problem not theirs.

[poodicat]

We dont get paid for the first 3 days

[CW1]

Thanks jb190281, that's reassuring. Was pretty sure I should be paid it though it IS a very tight (although large and very profitable !) company, paying very poor salaries so can ill-afford to lose that money.

[CW1]

So I might as well as "gone sick" for 4 days and been paid. :(( Not my style.

[Buenchico]

Unless you've got a contract which says otherwise (which the majority of employees haven't got - and you certainly don't seem to have) you only get paid when you're working. If you're not there, you don't get paid.

That's the basic principal but the Government will pay you (through your employer) SSP for up to 28 weeks, commencing from the 4th day of sickness.
[That's a bit of a simplification. Your employer actually pays you SSP and then seeks to get some, or all, of it back from the tax man]

You weren't at work. Your contract doesn't entitle you to any sick pay under a company scheme. You weren't absent long enough to qualify for SSP. Hence you don't get paid. There's nothing you can do about it.

Unless your company operates its own sick pay scheme for employees who've completed their probationary period, nothing will change when your probationary period ends.

Chris

[factor-fiction]

If you'd gone sick for 4 days you'd have gained a bit of SSP but lost 3 days pay so you'd have been worse off. Also your sickness record can count against you and remember the employer can dismiss you for almost any reason in the first 12 months.

[CW1]

EDDIE51, not relevant to me now, being penalised for not taking the proverbial, but a coupla sites I looked at say SSP is £79.15 a week (if you earn more than £97 a week), including this one
http://www.direct.gov...orinjured/DG_10018786
I couldn't really have taken holiday at such short notice, they may well have refused to let me have it.
Thanks though all, appreciate quick responses.

[factor-fiction]

Eddie1- whilst I agree with your points I think that the 28 week figure CW1 mentioned is the length of absence for which SSP can be paid (first 28 weeks of absence) rather than the length of the probationary period. I had to read the question a couple of times to be clear on this

[factor-fiction]

I agree with you Eddie1- I was just pointing out that the reference to 28 weeks had been misunderstood, but I agree it doesn't change the fact that company sick pay won't be paid during the probationary period (however long that may be)

[CW1]

Sorry, in my rage-induced-black-tinted-glasses, and now having been fed and watered (I hadn't long got in from work when I posted), I realise I wasn't as clear as I could've been.
The probation period is 6 mths (prob 28 wks !). During that time, I'm "eligible to apply for SSP" for the 1st 28 wks sickness.
Once probation's finished, then the 1st 28 wks is paid at "usual basic salary".
Hope that clarifies :)

[dzug2]

<<The point still is that no one can have SSP AND company sick pay at the same time.>>

They can - or they could when I was still working. The company paid SSP and then made up to normal pay with company sick pay.

Or have things changed in the last mumble mumble years?

[chelle7272]

dzug what you're describing as far as i can see is company sick pay. We pay full pay for sick leave (after 6 month probation). Then, if at the end of the year we have paid sufficient SSP equivalent then we can claim it back (never happened yet!). It's not both.

Eddie is completely right. Whilst on probation you aren't entitled to company sick pay so they will have deducted one days pay from your salary. As was suggested above, next time take it as leave or negotiate to make the hours up if your employer is flexible enough.

[ABerrant]

At a slight tangent but to clarify one of EDDIE51's points, the figures £64.30 and £50 for under-25s (actually £50.95) are ESA (Employment and Support Allowance) rates for 2009. The current rates are listed here...

http://www.direct.gov...Support/esa/DG_171896

[ruby]

unfortunately your employer can withold pay whether you are on a trial basis or not. it is all down to the contract, so if it says they will only pay for sick days at their discretion, then so be it. The £80 must represent a day's pay after tax and national insurance or the amount you would have been paid for that shift after deductions.

this is fairly standard with employers, when the bad weather happened in jan. supermarkets were only paying staff that turned up for their shift.

it is also true about the SSP. sorry that this is not the answer you wanted to hear.

[joko]

dont see any harm in querying it. dont go in all guns blazing, but just say you are confused and could they clear it up, tell them what you understood the rules to be

it might just be an error

[TheOmpnipotent]

Yes you do. Whilst on probation you are not entitled to sick pay. I guess this is to prevent people from starting a probationary period and immediately calling in sick for the entire time.

Also, whilst on probation they can "fire" you at any time - if they had to pay you sick leave, they may opt to fire you instead to avoid the sick pay