Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme opens: How to apply

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a number of financial relief measures to help the UK economy through the coronavirus crisis in March. The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme is now open, and can be used to claim back employee’s coronavirus-related Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Express.co.uk explains how you can make a claim to the scheme.

Who is eligible to make a claim?

You can use the scheme if you are claiming for an employee who’s eligible for sick pay due to coronavirus.

You must also have a PAYE payroll scheme which was created on or before February 28, 2020.

To be able to claim, you must have had fewer than 250 employees on February 28, 2020 across all your PAYE payroll schemes

You can claim back from both the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme for the same employee, but not for the same period of time.

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In addition to details of employee’s claim periods, you will also need to calculate the total amount of coronavirus-related SSP you have paid for the claim period.

You will need your Government Gateway user ID and password, and your PAYE reference number as an employer. 

Bank and building society details will need to be provided, along with your own contact details.

If your claim is approved HMRC are aiming to pay out within six working days, but strict penalties will be enforced for people who make dishonest or innacurate claims.

For those employers who deliberately provide false information, an fine up to £3,000 could be issued.