{"id":6381,"date":"2025-05-21T09:28:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T08:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/?p=6381"},"modified":"2025-05-21T08:28:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T08:28:47","slug":"understanding-linked-periods-of-sickness-and-how-they-affect-payroll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-linked-periods-of-sickness-and-how-they-affect-payroll\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding linked periods of sickness and how they affect payroll"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), most payroll teams are confident in calculating payments for a single period of absence.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

However, what happens when an employee has more than one spell of sickness over a short space of time?<\/p>\n

This is where linked periods of sickness come into play, and misunderstanding them can lead to errors in entitlement and payment.<\/p>\n

What is a linked period of sickness?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A linked period of sickness arises when an employee has more than one absence due to illness, and those absences occur within an eight-week window of each other.<\/p>\n

Crucially, for a period to be linked, each absence must qualify as a Period of Incapacity for Work (PIW).<\/p>\n

A PIW is formed when the employee has been sick for at least four consecutive days, which can include non-working days.<\/p>\n

So, two separate four-day illnesses, occurring a few weeks apart, can be linked for SSP purposes.<\/p>\n

Why does this matter?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When periods of sickness are linked, the employee may not have to serve waiting days again, meaning SSP could be payable from the first qualifying day of the subsequent absence.<\/p>\n

This can affect how much SSP is due, and when.<\/p>\n

If the periods are not linked (i.e. more than eight weeks apart or one is not long enough to form a PIW), the standard three waiting days apply again, and SSP would only be paid from day four.<\/p>\n

This rule is set out in section 152 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (the Act), and it remains an important consideration for anyone running payroll.<\/p>\n

How payroll teams should handle this<\/strong><\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Keep detailed absence records<\/strong> \u2013 Dates of all sickness absences should be recorded and reviewed together to assess whether they fall within the eight-week linking rule.<\/li>\n
  • Check for PIW formation<\/strong> \u2013 Do not assume every absence counts. Only those lasting four or more consecutive days can be linked.<\/li>\n
  • Use payroll software carefully<\/strong> \u2013 Make sure your system is set up to apply the linking rules correctly, especially when absences are close together.<\/li>\n
  • Watch the SSP cap<\/strong> \u2013 All paid SSP counts towards the employee\u2019s 28-week maximum entitlement, even when periods are linked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Let\u2019s say your employee was off sick from 1 to 7 March (seven days) and then again from 25 to 29 April (five days).<\/p>\n

    Because both absences lasted over four days and occurred within eight weeks, they are linked.<\/p>\n

    This means you:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Paid SSP from day four of the March absence.<\/li>\n
    • Owe SSP from day one of the April absence (no new waiting days).<\/li>\n
    • Must track how many total weeks of SSP have been used.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      With potential legislative changes on the horizon such as abolishing waiting days and removing the Lower Earnings Limit, it is even more important to understand how the current rules work.<\/p>\n

      We recommend reviewing your absence and payroll procedures to ensure you are fully compliant and keeping good records.<\/p>\n

      If you are unsure whether an employee’s absence qualifies as a PIW or whether periods should be linked, our payroll team is happy to help you.<\/p>\n

      Need help reviewing your payroll process for SSP compliance? Speak with our team today.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      When it comes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), most payroll teams are confident in calculating payments for a single period of absence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,125],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6381"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6381"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6382,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6381\/revisions\/6382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}