A person is entitled to credits for any week in which each of
the days was a day of incapacity for work for the purposes of
statutory sick pay, and falls within a period of entitlement for
SSP (Regulation 8B(2)(ii) Social Security (Credits) Regulations
1975).
An employee may also claim "credits" for some or all of the
complete weeks they have been paid SMP or SAP if the tax year in
which they were paid a statutory payment is not a qualifying year
for benefit.
However, employers are no longer required to pay and record
SSP on pay records provided they pay the employee an equivalent or
higher amount, and keep records to allow them to answer questions
about periods of sickness or complete SSP1 where appropriate. Where
end of year returns do not show SSP, the employer will be able to
confirm that the employee was sick. (Employer guidance E14, E15
refer)
The claim for credits must be made in writing to NICO
Contributor Group, BPV, Newcastle upon Tyne.
The maximum number of SMP "credits" that can be awarded for
one birth are:
However, it is possible for a woman to have 2 or 3 live births
during a tax year and, therefore, to be entitled to concurrent
periods of SMP.
Prior to 2003-2004, a claim for more than 36 weeks of credits
in one tax year is possible but highly unusual. From 2003-2004 a
claim for 52 weeks credits for one tax year is reasonable.
The maximum number of SAP credits awarded for one placement
(from 2007-08 onwards) would be 39. However, it is possible to have
concurrent placements. For example, if siblings are placed with the
same adoptive parents, but under different arrangements, the number
of SAP "credits" awarded in one tax year could be up to 52.
For SSP, a person could have 44 credits in a tax year - one
28 week PIW plus 16 weeks of new PIW which does not link with the
previous one.
Although a married woman with a valid married woman's reduced
rate election may receive SSP, SMP or SAP, they are not entitled to
the associated credits.
