An employee is
entitled to be paid for up to 26 weeks
if he or she is suspended on medical
grounds in compliance with any
regulation or law which concerns the
health and safety of workers.
An employee is only
entitled to claim a medical suspension
payment if he or she has been
continuously employed for a period of
one month. An employee employed for a
fixed term of three months or less or
under a specific task contract which is
not expected to last for more than three
months is not entitled to a medical
suspension payment.
An employee will lose
the right to payment where:
-
He or she is
incapable of work by reason of
disease or bodily or mental
disablement;
-
The employer
offered the employee suitable
alternative employment (whether or
not it was work that the employee
was engaged to perform) and the
employee unreasonably refused to
perform that work; or
-
He or she failed
to comply with the employer's
reasonable requirements imposed with
a view to ensuring his or her
services were available.
The amount an
employee is entitled to be paid is 'a
week's pay' (or a proportion of 'a weeks
pay') for every week of suspension. 'A
week's pay' is calculated according to
statutory rules and is also the basis
for the calculation of redundancy
payments and compensation for unfair
dismissal.
Employees may raise a
complaint with an employment tribunal
for failure to make a medical suspension
payment Such a complaint must be made
within three months of the day on which
it is alleged that payment was not made.
The tribunal will extend the time limit
if it was not reasonably practicable for
the claim to be made within three months
The Interactive
Law Group