Can an employee get statutory sick pay after private elective surgery recovery?

[AnnaQuayRules]

Can anyone advise what are the legalities around sick pay?

DS has a deformity to his chest. It's hidden under clothing but very noticeable when he removes his top. Because it doesn't cause him any mobility or other issues the NHS won't operate. However it is causing him a lot of distress and impacting on his mental health.

He has saved up money to have the operation. He has been advised he will need 4-6 weeks off for recovery. It will probably be 6 weeks as he's in a manual job rather than desk based.

He has spoken to his manager and been told that he won't be eligible for sick pay given that it's a "cosmetic" procedure.

Does anyone know if this is correct? He knows SSP isn't a huge amount of money so he will have to save up the difference but he did think he'd get the statutory minimum as he will have to take the time off due to the operation.

He will need a Fit note from his GP or surgeon doing the op in order to get SSP. So if they sign him off as unfit for work, that’s the mechanism for SSP.

What did he tell his boss? Surely the conversation should be “I am having surgery on my chest next month and will be unfit for work for 4-6 weeks. I will submit a fit note”

If the gp or surgeon will sign him off, he can get SSP. His boss’s opinion is irrelevant. Better if he had just told him he was having surgery.

As others have said - if he has a note from his GP for sick leave then they need to pay him.

All surgery is elective. Whether or not his is cosmetic is irrelevant but even so, you could argue that it's affecting his mental health.

I think the moral of the story here is just to say you are having surgery on your chest. As I said I had surgery on my stomach when I had weight loss surgery years ago.

I’m not sure - our company asks if it is elective surgery and if it is, people have to use A/L instead of sickness. Otherwise you would get people taking sick pay for a nose job. One of my employees had laser eye surgery and used a week of her A/L to recover.

Eh?. I had cancer surgery several times and it’s elective. Elective doesn’t mean cosmetic.

There's a difference between what your DS is having and cosmetic enhancement surgery. Someone got fired for taking sick leave for a boob job at my old place but correcting a deformity would be fine, as it's fixing something that is "wrong" iyswim.

Does he have a union? Or can he contact ACAS for advice?

I don't think you know what elective surgery means, it is simply that it is booked in and not an emergency surgery that could be anything from removing a brain tumour to cosmetic surgery.

All surgery is not elective? Emergency and life saving surgery is not elective.

elective means it’s a choice, it’s not emergent so it can be planned.

an emergency c-section is not a choice, unless you want to argue that mother and baby dying is a choice…

That’s not right, though. I had surgery for cancer, designed to save my life - it was elective. I also had emergency surgery through A and E, and I had to consent and choose that too. I was operated on within eight hours of arriving at A and E department. They had another option they could give me temporarily but only as a stopgap.

Yes you can set ssp if signed off by surgeon, consultant or GP. The reason for the absence makes no difference. He is recovering from surgery. The organisations own operational sick pay may have a different policy but SSP would be fine

Exactly. Emergency surgery means it’s completely unplanned and would include things like an appendicectomy, where a patient is admitted through A&E and goes straight to theatre. An elective surgery would be something like a tumour removal which was booked an advance. The term elective has no bearing on necessity.

Arguing over the definition of elective surgery is not really relevant. It’s clear what OP means by the word even if it’s not technically correct - she is asking about something not medically necessary but something her son is choosing.

And yes, if he has a fit note that signs him off work, he’s eligible for SSP.

Why did he tell his employer he has having a cosmetic procedure?

Apologies if I've used the wrong word, of course I'm aware that all surgery that is planned in advance is elective. The situation is akin to cosmetic surgery but DS doesn't describe it as such.

@WhatAMarvelousTune has summed it up very well - thanks.

What were the words your son used when talking to his employer about this?

There is a deference between elective cosmetic surgery and medically advised cosmetic surgery. For the former you may not be paid contractural sick pay, but should, if you qualify receive SSP. If the procedure is medically advised , then your employer should pay contractural sick pay. If the surgery your son is planning is to fix a physical issue and his doctor agrees the surgery is beneficial to him, he may well be able to argue that he is entitled to sick pay.
A good example would be breast enhancement would be classed as elective cosmetic surgery, but a breast reduction may well classed as medically advised cosmetic surgery due to physical problems arising.

I had a boob job.

Completely wholly and 100% cosmetic!

I got signed off “operation recovery” for 1 week. No one batted an eye

I suspect your son may have shared too much info about the ins and outs of the surgery, where he’s having it etc which his employer does not need to know.

All the employer needs is a Fit note signed by a Dr declaring him unfit due to having had surgery

Thanks everyone. I'm not sure exactly what DS told his manager, but possibly too much!