Sick pay entitlement information

A person's contract of employment will set out for them what they are entitled to in terms of sick pay as it varies from job to job.

Some rely on statutory sick pay (SSP) but many companies offer their own company sick pay rates which cannot be less than an employee would receive under SSP.

Part-time workers sick entitlement

Workers cannot be discriminated against for working part-time. If the company they work for has its own sick pay scheme then they will be entitled to be part of it though it will be on a pro rata basis.

Freelance workers are in a different situation however. As they are not employees of the company they would not be entitled to company sick pay.

Agency workers are also different in that they would normally not be able to receive company sick pay from the place in which they were working, although some agency workers who have been at the same place of work for a long period of time may have acquired 'employee status'.

If however freelance or agency workers are off sick due to being injured in an accident at work, they may be able to make a compensation claim.

EU ruling for sickness whilst on holiday

A ruling from the European Court of Justicea allows employees who become ill while on holiday to claim the time back as sick leave later.

The issue arose from a case in Madrid where a worker began a legal battle after being refused the right to reschedule his summer holiday because of an injury he had recently sustained.

The court in Luxembourg ruled that he could not be forced to take annual leave during a period of sick leave.

Fit notes replace sick notes

The 'sick note' system has been replaced by 'fit notes' from the 6th April 2010. The computerised statements from GPs will provide more information on an employee's medical condition including confirmation of whether the employee is fit for work generally, is fit for some work or fit for no work at all. Specialised medical reports will still be required if there is concern that the employee's condition may amount to a disability.

Under the changes doctors could recommend reduced or altered hours or a phased return to work and it is hoped that the move will provide a boost to the economy in reducing the number of people ending up on state benefits.

Statutory sick pay is scheduled to remain the same at £79.15 per week.

For comprehensive information on Health & Safety in the workplace from the official government website, please visit: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/HealthAndSafetyAtWork/index.htm