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HMRC launches online system to help agents recoup sick pay costs during Coronavirus crisis

New online system will be available from 26th May and is for companies whose employees have contracted the virus or who are self-isolating or shielding at home.

Nigel Lewis

Estate agents with fewer than 250 employees can from 26th May apply online to have Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) payments reimbursed to them via a new online system during the Coronavirus pandemic, it has been announced this morning.

This will make it much easier and quicker for estate agencies to recoup the SSP payments they have made to staff who have been unable to work.

Under the scheme, this can be because they have the virus, are self-isolating because someone they live with has the virus or have been told by their GP to shield themselves at home.

The Government’s Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme was announced in early April, revealing that the government was to pay SSP on behalf of companies for the first two weeks of an employee’s absence to help smaller firms weather the crisis.

£95.85p a week

Estate agency employees who are eligible for the SSP payment are entitled to £95.85p per week.

Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, Therese Coffey, says: “This rebate will put money back in the pockets of millions of employers, ensuring they can hit the ground running as the economy re-opens.”

To prepare to make their claim, agencies should keep records of all the SSP payments that they wish to claim from HMRC.

You can read further guidance on checking whether you can claim back SSP paid to employees due to coronavirus (COVID-19) on GOV.UK.

The scheme also allows employers to claim for both existing employees but also former employees who have been made redundant since 13th March 2020.

 

 

May 19, 2020

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