Brief details firstly

1. age 67 therefore receiving State Pension

2. Work for an agency virtually full time

3. Contract I have been on for 3.5 years is just about to finish

4. Although still registered with agency jobs will be as and when

5. Due in May to have operation

So my question is, a) morally and b) practically would I still be entitled to SSP ( and accruing Holiday entitlement) even if I have little placements between now and Hospital? I don't, at the moment intend to "resign" (Cant be doing with being an idle pensioner!)

I had an operation last October and took a total of 6 weeks off whilst working full time and received SSP and Hol Pay for this period

I am just interested in whether it is correct and indeed ethical

Many thanks for opinions

Hello there.

As this is more of an employment question than a benefits one, I've moved you to the employment forum. The guys should be along over the course of the day.

HB

This is legally correct. If you qualify for SSP there is no age restriction and state pension does not affect it. ESA, however, is not payable if you receive a state pension. You still have all the rights of any other worker or employee (depending on which you are).

Whether it is morally acceptable or not is a matter for personal opinion. Since there is no dishonesty involved, personally see no reason why it should be immoral - the law permits this. In fact the law permits someone to claim SSP if they qualify no matter how much money you have coming in from other sources because it is not means tested. Though if your lottery ticket came up last night and you claimed it, I might have a few choice thoughts on that - but they would be more along the lines of the kinds of comments a reserve for tax evaders. Most people pensions are not huge amounts, and increasingly pensioners have to work whether they want to or not. They shouldn't be penalised for that.

Thank you for your thoughts, I appreciate it is in order, it's just that I have perhaps old fashioned morals it seemed ok when definitely working "full time" and an on going job but I did wonder.

there is a maximum you can get as holiday pay when off sick and it is 20 days/year not the 28 days for paid a/l Bear this in mind when calculating your holiday later on in the year

there is a maximum you can get as holiday pay when off sick and it is 20 days/year not the 28 days for paid a/l Bear this in mind when calculating your holiday later on in the year

This is not correct. The European ruling, now UK law, relates to long term sickness, running over holiday years and carrying forward holiday. None of which the OP asked about, and none of which appears to be relevant to the OP. And it is not a maximum. It is a minimum. This is the amount that MUST be permitted. It is up to the employer if they allow more, and a great many do. There is no reason to believe that the OP will lose any holiday at all - they are only anticipating being of work for weeks for as operation, so it wouldn't affect them.