The portal to claim a refund of coronavirus statutory sick pay (CSSP) paid to employees opened on 26 May 2020, as we explained in our newsletter on 21 May 2020.
The refund scheme has only ever been open to employers with fewer than 250 employees, and who also set up their PAYE scheme before 28 February 2020. The refunds would only cover CSSP paid to employees who were absent because of coronavirus affecting themselves or a member of their household, leading to a requirement to self-isolate.
The refund claims could be back-dated to 13 March 2020, but in all cases a maximum of 14 days of SSP paid per employee could be reclaimed.
The government has just announced that refunds of CSSP will only be given for periods of absence from work up to and including 30 September 2021. This is also the day that the furlough scheme closes.
However, the new regulations that close the SSP refund scheme do allow employers to make claims and amend any claims up until 31 December 2021.
One aspect of the CSPP remains in place – that SSP should be paid from the first day of absence from work where the absence is for a coronavirus-related reasons.
Written by the Tax Advice Network