Employers can make outstanding claims for reimbursement of SSP paid for sickness periods up to 5 April 14 until close of the 2015/16 tax year. Details can be found in the SSP employer guide . Funding from PTS will be reinvested into providing the new Health and Work Service , which the Department for Work & Pensions and HM Treasury are introducing in late 2014. This will provide occupational health advice and support for employees, employers and GPs to help people with a health condition to stay in or return to work. There are 2 elements to the service: assessment – once the employee has reached, or is expected to reach, 4 weeks of sickness absence they will normally be referred by their GP for an assessment by an occupational health professional, who will look at all the issues preventing the employee from returning to work advice – employers, employees and GPs will be able to access advice through a phone line and website Following an assessment, employees will receive a return to work plan with recommendations to help them to return to work more quickly and information on how to get appropriate help and advice. The government will introduce a tax exemption of up to £500 a year for each employee on medical treatments recommended by the Health and Work Service or an employer-arranged occupational health service.
Abolition of the Percentage Threshold Scheme
22 April 2014
Over recent months we have posted several news items discussing the abolition of the Percentage Threshold Scheme (PTS) which took effect from 6 April 2014.
We are aware of the impact this will have on small employers, and have continually highlighted the associated problems with the DWP ever since the announcement was made. This continued at the most recent meeting of the Statutory Payments Consultation Group (SPCG) on 26 March 2014 (which coincided with the issue being discussed in the House of Commons), where we stressed the impact this would have on very small employers and those employing carers.
We have today received the following response to the point raised by the CIPP at the SPCG meeting:
The Department of Health 2009 guidelines to Local Authorities states:
“In estimating the reasonable cost of securing the support required, councils should include associated costs that are necessarily incurred in securing provision, without which the service could not be provided or could not lawfully be provided. The particular costs involved will vary depending on the way in which the service is secured, but such costs might include recruitment costs, National Insurance, statutory holiday pay, sick pay, maternity pay, employers’ liability insurance, public liability insurance and VAT. Some councils have found it helpful to include a one-off start-up fund within the direct payments to meet these costs as well as other forms of support that might be required, such as brokerage, payroll services and Criminal Records Bureau checks on employees. Local authorities also have a duty of care towards the person receiving direct payments. The Local Authority must ensure the person is coping; administering the payments appropriately and is not at risk. Therefore, if a carer becomes ill, the Local Authority should consider
CIPP Policy News Journal
08/04/2015, Page 476 of 521
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