Government to reintroduce Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme as part of package of support for businesses impacted by the Omicron variant

Chancellor advises that employers will be eligible for the scheme from today and that they will be able to make claims retrospectively from mid-January 2022

The government is reintroducing its Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS), the Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced.

As part of a package of additional support for businesses who have been impacted by the Omicron variant, Mr Sunak said today that the government will again cover the cost of statutory sick pay for Covid-related absences for small and medium-sized employers across the UK.

Highlighting that the increasing numbers of Covid-19 cases means more workers are taking time off, Mr Sunak said that the SSPRS will help employers with fewer than 250 employees by reimbursing them for the cost of statutory sick pay for Covid-related absences, for up to 2 weeks per employee. He added that firms will be eligible for the scheme from today, and that they will be able to make claims retrospectively from mid-January 2022.

NB - further details are available in an SSPRS fact sheet published by HM Treasury.

For more information, see £1 billion in support for businesses most impacted by Omicron across the UK from gov.uk