Question 1

What are your rights to sick pay?

Accepted Answer

Statutory Sick Pay is a **legal minimum, paid by your employer**, not a benefit from the state — and it is considerably less than most people assume, which is why the difference between statutory and contractual sick pay matters so much.

**Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).** A flat weekly rate, paid for up to **28 weeks** in a period of sickness.

**Who qualifies:** employees earning at least the lower earnings limit, who have been off sick for the qualifying period and have notified their employer.

**What it is not:** it is not related to your normal earnings. **A high earner and a modest earner receive the same flat amount**, which for most people is a very large drop in income.

**Contractual or occupational sick pay.** Many employers pay more — full pay for a period, then half pay — and this is **entirely a matter of contract**. It is one of the more valuable and least examined parts of a job offer, and it varies enormously between employers.

**Evidence requirements:**

**Self-certification** for the first seven days, which cannot be refused.

**A fit note** from day eight, which is the correct term — it can say "not fit for work" **or** "may be fit for work" with suggested adjustments such as altered hours, amended duties or a phased return. **That second option is widely overlooked** and is the route back for many people.

**Fit notes can be issued by several professions**, not only doctors.

**What else attaches to sickness absence:**

**Holiday continues to accrue** while off sick, and untaken leave may be carried over where illness prevented it.

**Dismissal for long-term sickness is possible but constrained**, requiring a fair process, medical evidence and consideration of alternatives.

**Disability protections may apply**, including a duty to make reasonable adjustments — which is a separate and stronger right than sick pay.

**Occupational health referrals** exist to advise on capability and adjustments.

**Pregnancy-related absence** is treated separately and cannot count toward sickness triggers.

**Where SSP does not apply** — including for many self-employed people — welfare benefits are the fallback.

General information, not legal advice.

Question 2

What is the difference between an employee, a worker and self-employed?

Accepted Answer

In UK law these are three distinct employment statuses with sharply different rights, and what your contract calls you does not decide it — a tribunal looks at the reality of the arrangement.

Question 3

How is statutory redundancy pay calculated?

Accepted Answer

By a formula combining age, length of service and weekly pay — and the figure is frequently much lower than people expect, because each of the three inputs is capped or weighted. Who qualifies.

Question 4

What happens if your employer goes insolvent and you are owed money?

Accepted Answer

You become a creditor — and the practical answer is that some of what you are owed is payable by a government scheme rather than depending on whether there is money left in the business, which is the

Question 5

How do you return to work after long-term sickness?

Accepted Answer

Through a planned, phased process rather than a single return date — and the evidence is consistent that a structured return with adjustments produces better outcomes than waiting until someone is

Question 6

What is a zero-hours contract and what rights come with it?

Accepted Answer

A zero-hours contract is an arrangement with no guaranteed minimum hours. The employer offers work when available; how much obligation exists on either side depends on the contract's terms. The two

Question 7

How do maternity, paternity and shared parental leave work?

Accepted Answer

Three distinct entitlements with different lengths, different pay and different eligibility rules — and the interaction between them, particularly shared parental leave, is where most of the

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