Agentic UK Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) dispute resolution, fit note challenge, and HMRC SSP recovery claim service for small employers (1–30 staff) who are incorrectly paying SSP, disputing an employee's self-certification, or need to recover SSP through the HMRC Percentage Threshold Scheme (where eligible). Replaces the HR consultant or payroll bureau who charges £300–£800 to audit SSP liability, draft the employer's written response to a disputed fit note, and file the SSP1 form or HMRC recovery claim.
Why now
No fresh signal batch provided today; justified by the UK government's ongoing fit note reform consultation (DHSC, 2024) and proposed expansion of SSP eligibility removing the lower earnings limit — both changes increase SSP complexity and employer compliance burden in a durable, policy-driven way.
Commercial value
UK SSP costs employers ~£2.5B annually; small employers routinely overpay due to misunderstanding the 3-day waiting rule, linked periods, and qualifying days. HR consultants charge £300–£800 per dispute resolution engagement. A £149 per-case fixed fee or £49/month subscription for ongoing SSP audit is well within budget. Budget line: 'HR consultant / payroll bureau fees'. ACV £300–£600/year for a 10-person employer with 2–3 SSP events annually.
Go-to-market
Target small employer payroll bureaus and bookkeepers as referral partners — they handle payroll but don't want SSP dispute liability. Post in r/UKBusiness and r/smallbusiness. Price: £149 per SSP dispute pack, £49/month for ongoing SSP compliance monitoring. First 10 customers: cold email 50 UK payroll bureaus offering white-label referral at £30/case.
2-week MVP
Single feature: employer intake form (employee sick dates, pay rate, qualifying days, fit note details) → LLM calculates correct SSP liability, identifies any overpayment, and drafts the SSP1 form and employer response letter. Founder reviews calculation manually and delivers the completed pack by email within 4 hours. Cut: HMRC online submission, fit note GP challenge letters, tribunal prep. Day-1 outcome: employer knows exactly what SSP they legally owe and has a ready-to-send SSP1 if the employee disputes it.
Agent score
0.55 — Commercial: real budget line (HR/payroll consultant fees), durable pain, but per-event frequency is low for micro-employers and ACV is modest — honest 0.65. Speed: SSP calculation logic + LLM letter is a <1-week build; payroll bureau cold email is a known reachable channel — 0.86. Defensibility: SSP rules are public; any payroll software could add this feature; moat is very weak without proprietary case data — honest 0.35.
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