New Statutory Payment Rates for 2009/10

The new Statutory Payment Rates for 2009/10 have been announced (subject to Parliamentary approval). The new rates are as follows:

• Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) weekly rate - £79.15 for payment weeks beginning on or after 6 April 2009
• Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) – standard rate £123.06 for payment weeks beginning on or after 5 April 2009
• Statutory, Adoption and Paternity Pay (SAP, SPP) – £123.06 for payment weeks starting on or after 5 April 2009.

Employers who do not qualify for Small Employers’ Relief will be able to continue to recover 92% of the SMP/SAP/SPP. Employers who do qualify for the relief will be able to recover 104.5% of the SMP/SAP/SPP. A small employer is one who paid (or was liable to pay) total gross Class 1 NICs of £45,000 or less in the individual’s qualifying tax year. In addition, a new Employer Helpbook E19 is now available. This brings together all the information on Paternity Pay. The other Helpbooks now cover Sick Pay (E14), Maternity Pay (E15) and Adoption Pay (E16). Source: HMRC employer bulletin