Two former cabinet ministers have suggested that tweaks to the statutory sick pay (SSP) regime, including eligibility from a worker’s first day of illness, should be brought forward.
Writing in The Times last week, former home secretary Priti Patel and former lord chancellor and justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland suggested that the government should introduce a sick pay system that helps people who are ill to “get back on their feet and back to work”.
Currently, to qualify for SSP a worker must be classed as an employee, earn an average of at least £123 per week, and have been ill for at least four days in a row including non-working days.
Statutory sick pay
Statutory maternity, paternity and sick pay rates for 2023
They pointed out that an estimated two million people in the UK do not qualify for sick pay at all, while a further 10 million are only entitled to SSP and therefore do not receive sick pay for the first three days of absence.
In 2019, the government proposed changes to SSP including extending eligibility to employers earning below the lower earnings limit. A consultation found that 75% of respondents, including small and large businesses, supported this, but the government did not proceed with the change.
Patel and Buckland said: “The government has an opportunity to grasp the nettle and take forward these popular reforms. A modest investment in supporting those affected by ill heath will save businesses money by reducing the impact and risk of longer-term absence, help efforts to support recruitment, retention and employee morale, and provide a boost to our economy.
“The government can be both tough on those who need a nudge to get back into work and compassionate to those who through no fault of their own need time to recover. These simple tweaks to the system would ensure all workers get sick pay from their employer from day one of their illness. Second, we could ensure that every worker can access at least some sick pay from their employer.”
However, Clare Lusted, UK head of product proposition at health benefits provider Unum, said the government needed to go further than reforming SSP.
“The proposed removal of the three-day waiting period as suggested in last week’s joint statement from senior MPs Priti Patel and Sir Robert Buckland is welcome. However, SSP’s replacement rate remains low. It also doesn’t support people experiencing longer absences and has eligibility criteria we believe to be too narrow,” she said.
“Ensuring SSP kicks in from day one is only the first part of the discussion on how the system should be reformed more broadly.”
Unum has advocated for an overhaul of SSP, including widening eligibility, updating the rules to allow for flexible working and simplifying administration for employers.
Lusted said adopting a wider definition of ‘occupational health’, following the introduction of subsidies for small businesses outlined in the Budget, would complement SSP reforms.
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“Combined, we feel these changes would better support employers to manage employee sickness absence, level up the health and wellbeing of Britain’s workers and contribute to the high-skilled growth our economy needs,” she said.
