Occupational Sick Pay

Non Teaching Staff - OSP

This payment is made under the terms of your contract and your conditions of service. OSP takes into account the number of days of sickness absence taken within the previous 12 months period and is determined by length of service on the first day of a period of sickness absence. Therefore the entitlement during a particular absence is determined by deducting from the full entitlement all sickness absence which has occurred in the preceding 12 months, e.g., if sickness starts on 6th July then you look back to the previous 7th July

Length of Service                             Scale of allowance

During 1st year of service              1 month full pay and (after 4 calendar months service)

                                                   2 months half pay

During 2nd year of service             2 months full pay and 2 months half pay

During 3rd year of service              4 months full pay and 4 months half pay

During 4th & 5th year of service     5 months full pay and 5 months half pay

After 5 years service                      6 months full and 6 months half pay

Teaching staff – OSP

A teacher’s entitlement to salary while on sick leave is set out in the Burgundy Book.

Entitlement to sick pay is dependent on continuous service with one or more Local Education Authorities. The entitlement year runs from the 1st April to 31st March with a new entitlement starting each year on the 1st of April. Where a teacher is on sick leave on 31st March in any year, no new entitlements shall begin until the teacher has resumed duty and the period from 1st April until the return to duty is regarded as part of the preceding year’s entitlement.  Only working days are used for calculation purposes.

When a teacher moves to another employer, any sick pay paid during the current year by the previous employer shall be taken into account in calculating the amount and duration of sick pay payable by the new employer.

Length of Service                         Scale of allowance

During 1st year of service             Full pay for 25 working days and after completing four                                                        calendar months’ service, half pay for 50 working days.

During 2nd year of service            Full pay for 50 working days and then half pay for 50 working days

During 3rd year of service            Full pay for 75 working days and half pay for 75 working days

During 4th & subsequent years     Full pay for 100 working days and half pay for 100 working days

SSP is payable if you are absent due to sickness for four days or more provided you qualify and are not excluded for any of the specified reason. It is payable at a rate of £116.75 (2023/24) per week and for a maximum period of 28 weeks. Where an employee is receiving full pay, SSP will form part of that sick pay and is offset against the OSP – no one will receive more than their normal pay.

When employees move on to half pay, SSP will be paid on top of the half pay until the period of sickness absence reaches 28 weeks. This payment is again offset to ensure that no one receives more than their normal full pay.

Payroll will send a Statutory Sick Pay Leavers Statement (SSP1) form to you if:

• You are excluded from an entitlement to SSP
• You have received the full 28 weeks payment.

Following receipt of the SSP1 employees will need to liaise with the Jobcentre Plus to establish any entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance.  Further information on Statutory Sick Pay can be found on gov.uk.

There are instances that may result in the Authority withholding occupational sick pay – please see point 8 of the Sickness Absence Policy. Withholding Occupational Sick Pay and/or Statutory Sick Pay applies to all categories of staff.

The Line Manager will notify the employee in writing of the decision to stop payment of Occupational Sick Pay and/or Statutory Sick Pay. This letter will be separate to that of the Attendance Management Meeting letters and must include the right to request that the decision to withhold occupational sick pay be reviewed.

For example the Sickness Absence Policy, section 8 states:

‘Occupational sick pay will not be made if occupational health medical professionals advise a return to work within a specific timeframe and the employee does not return to work without GOOD REASON’.

Corporate Staff

The employee has the right to request that the decision to withhold occupational/statutory sick pay be reviewed by the Director or nominated representative with advice from the Assistant Chief Executive (People Management) or nominated representative.

The request to review a decision must be made by writing to the Assistant Chief Executive (People Management) within 7 calendar days of the date of the receipt of the decision in respect of the withdrawal of occupational/statutory sick pay, and must set out the reasons for the request for a review. The Director or nominated representative will review the decision, with advice from the Assistant Chief Executive (People Management) or nominated representative, and confirm the outcome to the employee without undue delay.

Staff Directly Employed by Schools (e.g. Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Administrative Staff etc)

The employee has the right to request that the decision to withhold occupational/statutory sick pay be reviewed by the Appeals Panel of the Governing Body.  The request to review a decision must be made by writing to the Clerk to the Governing Body within 7 calendar days of the date of the receipt of the decision in respect of the withdrawal of Occupational/Statutory Sick pay, and must set out the reasons for the request for a review.

The Authority will try to ensure that overpayments do not occur as a result of the payment of both Occupational Sick Pay and Statutory Sick pay ending. However, should an overpayment occur the Payroll Department is authorised to deduct a minimum of 10% of an employee’s gross monthly salary to recover the overpayment and will continue until the full amount has been retrieved.

Employees can by contacting Payroll, agree to pay larger amounts or settle the amount in full.

The Absence Team will write to employees at least 28 calendar days before pay is reduced to half/exhausted due to sickness absence wherever possible.