Introduce, manage and review an occupational sick pay scheme

Key points

Many organisations offer sick pay that is more generous than the statutory minimum.
Employers are not required to operate the statutory sick pay (SSP) scheme if they offer contractual pay that is at least as generous as SSP, but there are certain administrative and record-keeping requirements that should still be followed.
An employer needs to decide what rate of sick pay its organisation is willing to offer and for how long, and the circumstances under which sick pay will and will not be paid.
Occupational sick pay schemes can be costly and need to be closely managed and reviewed regularly to check that they are meeting objectives. A review might look at entitlements, qualifying periods, notification procedures and other scheme rules, as well as costs and impact on absence rates.
It pays for employers to benchmark their sickness benefits against those of comparable organisations.