Latest in Employment Law>Articles>What Effect Will Recent Changes to SSP Rules Have For Employers?
What Effect Will Recent Changes to SSP Rules Have For Employers?
Published on: 02/08/2022
Issues Covered: Absence & Sickness
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Chris Fullerton
Chris Fullerton

What Effect Will Recent Changes to SSP Rules Have For Employers?

The Social Security (Medical Evidence) and Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) (Amendment) (No 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 came into force on 1 July 2022.

This amendment will broaden the number of healthcare professionals who can certify statements of fitness to work, commonly known as ‘fit notes’. Fit notes are issued and authorised by doctors (usually an employee’s GP) following an assessment of their fitness to work. If it’s determined the employee is unable to work, they will present the fit note to their employer during a period of illness in order to receive SSP.

Previously, only doctors could certify fit notes. These regulations expand the range of healthcare professionals to include registered nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists, in addition to doctors.

Therefore, from 1 July 2022 any fit note certified by one of the abovementioned medical professionals can be accepted by an employer as valid proof of an employee’s entitlement to SSP.

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Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 02/08/2022