Can they take my sick pay back?

In January I was knocked off my bike by a car which pulled out of a side road, and I was unable to work for 3 months. I have been sent the medical report of the doctor the other side’s insurer wanted me to see and it says that only 1 month off work was reasonable. Now it looks like I must repay my employer for 4 month’s sick pay yet I am only going to get 1 month’s pay back. This doesn’t seem right to me?

Jaime Gonzalez, by e-mail

Answer

I assume your employment contract contains a subrogated claim clause allowing your employer to recover sick pay paid to you from the compensation you receive. I also assume you have had your own medical expert’s assessment so you need to check what your expert said. If this has not been dealt with by your expert he should be asked to comment on the reasonableness of the time off work.

You could also speak to your employer and explain the position in the hope that they only request the amount you actually receive for loss of earnings in your claim. I find that employers often agree.

This sort of thing often comes up in cases where liability is disputed and for example the Claimant accepts 30% of the blame (therefore gets 70% of his full compensation) yet he is contractually obliged to repay the employer the whole amount. Employers will often take what is actually recovered.