Person age 58, was admitted to hospital in June and a medical certificate covered period in hospital, then another doctor stated that client was to refrain from work until further notice - diagnosis was dementia.

After contacting Inland Revenue unit at Nottingham statutory sick pay (SSP) went into payment so incapacity beenfit claim lapsed. Now SSP has stopped, but ex-employer is not returning my telephone calls or answering fax about whereabouts of P45.

I understand that after six months long term incapacity benefit is payable at £74.15. When does the 6 month period of sickness start? Is it:

(1)from when SSP went into payment;
(2)6 months from first medical certificate;
(3)after 6 months on incapacity benefit?

Grateful for advice.

Short-term low rate IB is paid for the first 28 weeks, followed by short-term high rate IB for a further 28 weeks, then long term IB.

The rate paid depends on the number of days the claimant is entitled or treated as entitled - the latter includes periods on SSP.

The clock would start ticking from the first day of entitlement to SSP, I think. Can't see how it might be argued any other way ...

Entitlement does start from the first day of entitelement to SSP - entitlement being the key word, as there are employers - (particularly in this part of the world) who find it very hard to bring themselves to actually pay it - we have put in claims in the past for Incap on the grounds that the employer was refusing to pay it. With larger Companies, it's just that their Admin is lax - with the smaller ones it's more that they haven't got any admin to speak of - and even less admitted knowledge of employment laws - unless it's to their benefit.