An employee who was aged 65 or over on the first day of a PIW or
series of linked PIWs, was not entitled to SSP.
If an employee became aged 65 during the PIW, their
entitlement to SSP continued until the end of the PIW or series of
linked PIWs.
Where a PIW linked with an earlier PIW, the employee’s
age at the start of the first PIW determined any entitlement to
SSP.
For example
An employee was age 64 when they went sick and were off work
for more than four days so a PIW was formed. SSP was payable from
day 4 of their absence from work. They were 65 years of age two
weeks after their return to work. They went sick again four weeks
later, and a second PIW was formed which linked with the first one.
Although the employee was now over age 65, SSP was payable because
they were 64 years at the start of the linked PIWs.
In accordance with an EU directive, all age restrictions have
been removed. Employees who are under 16 years of age and over 65
years when they go sick are entitled to SSP if they satisfy all the
conditions for payment.
Anyone who was excluded from SSP for no other reason than
their age before 1 October 2006 and who was still unfit for work
due to incapacity on 1 October 2006 has a fresh PIW starting on 1
October 2006 which does not link to the pre-October 2006 PIW.
