SPM182600 - Paying and Recovering - SSP/SMP/SAP/SPP/ShPP/SPBP: offsetting against other payments
An employer can treat an employee’s wages or any occupational maternity, adoption, paternity or sick payments as payments towards SSP/SMP/SAP/SPP/ShPP/SPBP, or the other way round if:
- they continue to pay wages for a week in which SSP/SMP/SAP/SPP/ShPP/SPBP is due, even though the employee did not do any work for them, or
- they make a payment from their own occupational pay scheme for the same week as SSP/SMP/SAP/SPP/ShPP/SPBP.
If these payments are less than the SSP/SMP/SAP/SPP/ShPP/SPBP due the employer must make up the difference.
Jointly funded or employee funded scheme
Payments funded by employees cannot be offset against an employer’s liability to pay SSP/SMP/SAP/SPP/ShPP/SPBP.
If payment is paid from a jointly funded scheme, and it counts as earnings for NICs purposes, that part of the payment funded by the employer can be offset against the employer’s SSP/SMP/SAP/SPP/ShPP/SPBP liability.