Qualified Sick Pay Plan? (Deductibility)

[Guest Fourohonekay]

Sorry -- this is a cross post from a couple other message boards, but I wasn't sure which one was the right one on which to post it.

What is a "Qualified Sick Pay Plan" and why might a company need one in order to properly deduct disability benefits payable to an employee per his/her employment agreement (the payment comes directly from the employer, not from insurance)? Some websites indicate that a company must have a QSPP in order to deduct this type of disability pay.

Code s. 162 seems to permit the deduction of accident or sickness payments (i.e., disability pay) as a business expense as long as it's reasonable.

Am I missing something? Thanks for your thoughts.