According to the government, business and working people deserve a secure, supportive working environment that will in turn boost growth and productivity.
The government state it is committed to fair work, in which good employers and good employees thrive. The Plan to Make Work Pay is to support more people to stay in work, make work more family-friendly and improve living standards.
No one should be forced to choose between their health and financial hardship, which is why we plan to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay.
The current Statutory Sick Pay system is considered to foster economic insecurity at work.
No one should feel forced to struggle through work when they are too unwell.
Strengthening Statutory Sick Pay is seen as an important part of a much bigger picture, and it is important to work in close partnership with employers and workers to get this right.
What is the problem?
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the minimum statutory payment an employee is entitled to for periods where they are unable to work due to illness.
It is both administered and paid entirely by employers and is payable for up to 28 weeks per period of sickness absence.
There are two major change areas of concern:
Waiting Period – Currently, SSP is not payable unless sickness covers 4 calendar days and the first 3 qualifying days (days on which an employee is contracted or scheduled to work) of a sickness absence, which are referred to as ‘waiting days’. This means employees can feel forced to come to work when unwell.
Lower Earnings Limit – SSP is also not currently payable to those who earn less than the Lower Earnings Limit (currently £123 per week).
There are currently over 1 million individuals who earn below the LEL and do not have access to SSP.
So what is being considered?
SSP is to be extended further with a number of proposals under this consultation:
Removing the Waiting Period
SSP will become payable from the first day of sickness absence.
Enabling employees to take the time off to recover from short-term illnesses is considered to reduce the overall rate of sickness absence across the business, increase productivity, and help protect health.
Removing the waiting period can also support flexible return arrangements following illness. Currently flexible returning breaks the rules of a 4 calendar day PIW rule.
So this the requirement for a 4 day PIW is potentially removed along with the 3 working day waiting period. Sickness no longer needs to be a single continuous period with a minimum of 4 days.
Removing the Lower Earnings Limit
The Employment Rights Bill repeals the exclusion from SSP on employees earning below the National Insurance LEL of £123 per week.
All employees are to receive sick pay when they need to take time off due to illness. As many earn less than £116.75 SSP rate per week, it would be inappropriate to pay them this flat rate. The consultation seeks views on what this percentage of earnings should be.
The government are proposing to introduce a taper to the current SSP rate, so an employee is entitled to a certain percentage of their average weekly earnings or the current SSP flat rate, whichever is lower.
Options for the percentage rate
The government is consulting on what the percentage rate should be. They range from 60% to 80% of earnings, as proposed in the 2019 Health is Everyone’s Business consultation.
Want to know more and participate?
Do you have a view and want to influence this policy and how sickness is treated in employment, then participate and respond to the consultation.
The consultation can be found at:
PAYadvice.UK 29/19/2024