As an employer, you are normally obliged to pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) to a nanny who is sick for 4 or more calendar days in a row, regardless of the length of time that nanny has worked for that employer. No payment of salary or SSP is due for the first 3 days unless it is a term of the contract of employment.
Rates are stipulated by legislation, although any additional sick payment can be made at the discretion of the employer. The rate for 2018/19 is £92.05 divided by the number of days worked. From the eighth day of the illness, an employer is entitled to ask for medical evidence of the nanny’s sickness. For shorter illnesses, a nanny (or any other employee) is entitled to self-certificate.
If a nanny has a subsequent period of sick leave, where the condition is related to the previous period of illness, this will be deemed a linked period. Provided the nanny is sick for more than 3 days, SSP will be paid for the whole of the subsequent period.
If a nanny has more than one job, she is entitled to receive SSP from each job subject to being sick for the relevant number of qualifying days for each employment.
SSP is no longer recoverable from HMRC and therefore is a cost to the employer.
