Small and medium-sized employers will be able to recover Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) payments they have made to their employees via an online service from next week.

The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme was announced on Budget day in March as part of a package of support measures for businesses affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.

This scheme will allow employers with fewer than 250 employees to apply to HMRC to recover the costs of paying coronavirus-related SSP.

Employers will be able to make their claims through a new online service from 26 May. This means they will receive repayments at the relevant rate of SSP that they have paid to current or former employees for eligible periods of sickness starting on or after 13 March 2020.

Tax agents will also be able to make claims on behalf of employers.

To prepare to make their claim, employers should keep records of all the SSP payments that they wish to claim from HMRC.

Therese Coffey, secretary of state for the department of work and pensions, says: “We are committed to supporting Britain’s small and medium businesses through this pandemic with a comprehensive package of support.

“This rebate will put money back in the pockets of millions of employers, ensuring they can hit the ground running as the economy re-opens.”

Employers are eligible if they have a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started before 28 February 2020 and they had fewer than 250 employees before the same date.

The repayment will cover up to two weeks of SSP and is payable if an employee is unable to work because they have coronavirus, are self-isolating and unable to work from home, or are shielding because they’re at high risk of severe illness from coronavirus.