Temps and The Law for SSP

[ganimede]

I got a sick note from the doctors this afternoon so that's me signed off for another week. I rang Adecco to let them know and to check that I had to post it to them. M said she didn't need it because temps don't get sick pay. I informed her that the law changed last year and that as I was actually working, I was entitled to it. She disagreed,

Comments

[jamiethegrey]

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1074411377&type=RESOURCES... )

[ganimede]

So that says if I'm earning enough, pay tax and NI contributions, I'm entitled provided I've done 'some work' on this assignment. But it doesn't say how much I have to do. I presume those are the conditions it's refering to at the end.

[bella_cheval]

Don't you LOVE when the right hand has no clue what the left hand is doing??

[ganimede]

Well, it's more like an employer not knowing what they're legally obliged to do which is ridiculous.

[ftmichael]

God, how frustrating. As if it's not bad enough just being sick in the first place, they have to dick you around like this.

I did some googling and I found a load of other stuffs, but the gold mine seems to be the E14(2010) Employer Helpbook for Statutory Sick Pay (PDF), which is in use from 06 April 2010 to 05 April 2011 and says:

Although agency workers are not employed under a 'contract of service', they are deemed to have a contract of service with the agency for the period of their assignment. Subsequent assignments will give rise to new deemed contracts of service or series of linked contracts

[ganimede]

So that's similar to what Jamie found. If I'm earning enough, pay tax and NI contributions, I'm entitled provided I've done 'some work' on this assignment. But again, how much is 'some work'? And when it says provided I satisfy all the conditions of entitlement, is there others than what it's listed above?

Helpline might be useful, does it say when it's available?

[ftmichael]

I took 'some work' to mean 'any work', so as soon as you've turned up for a day of work, you'd be set. I couldn't find anything that clarified that though. :-/

Direct.gov says 'If you're working for an employer under a contract of service (even if you've only just started and you have done some work), you're entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if the following apply:

* you're sick for at least four days in a row (including weekends and bank holidays and days that you do not normally work)
* you have average weekly earnings of at least £97 a week'

So there's that 'some work' issue again, but those seem to be the only requirements besides you paying tax and NI contributions.

I had to look at several sites to find the hours for the helpline - lots of sites had the number, but no one had the hours which is quite silly - but I finally tracked them down. It's available Mon-Fri from 8-5.

[lizzie]

I'm such a jaded American that I read this post and thought "Why in the world would you get sick pay in a temp job? That's crazy!" And then I realized you live in a country with much better healthcare laws than I do.

People have already given you the text of the law, so I'll just say that I hope you get this sorted out soon and it's in your favor!

[ganimede]

I don't think it's anything to do with healthcare, it probably comes under employment law. It seems to be controlled by HM Revenue & Customs which is the tax office.

So in the US, if you're off work sick for more than a week, you have absolutely no income at all??

[lizzie]

It depends on your company. For most temp jobs that I've heard of, you don't get any benefits - no health insurance, no paid vacation/personal time off, no retirement plan, etc. I'm a salaried worker, so I get three weeks of paid vacation/personal days a year (including sick days). If I go over that, then I don't get paid.

[sullen_hearts]

My mother the Payroll Guru says she will ch-ch-ch-check it out tomorrow for you?

[ganimede]

Oh, that would be awesome! Thank you :)