The Government has abandoned plans to reform statutory sick pay (SSP) – including removing the ‘lower earnings limit’ to ensure all workers can access sick pay.
Note: If you're working for an employer under a contract of service (even if you've only just started), you're entitled to Statutory Sick Pay if the following apply:
- you're sick for at least four days in a row (including weekends and bank holidays and days that you do not normally work)
- you're normally earning above the lower limit £120 a week (from April 2021).
The SSP rate in 2021-22 is £96.35 a week for up to 28 weeks.
In its Health is everyone’s business consultation, published in July 2019, the Government said:
“The system of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is inflexible and does not reflect modern working practices, such as flexible working. The government proposes to reform SSP so that it is better enforced and more flexible in supporting employees.
This includes amending the rules to enable an employee returning from a period of sickness absence to have a flexible, phased return to work.
It also includes extending protection to those earning less than the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) (currently £118 per week) who do not currently qualify for SSP, as recommended in the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices.”
Now In its recently published response to the Health is everyone's business consultation, the Government says:
“The consultation asked whether respondents agreed that SSP should be extended to employees earning below the LEL and views on the rate that should be extended to this group.
A majority of respondents (75%) agreed that SSP should be extended to employees earning below the LEL. This measure was supported by small and large employer respondents alike.
Respondents felt that by extending SSP to those earning below the LEL, employers would be better incentivised to reduce sickness absence for all of their employees.”
Despite this, the Government then goes on to maintain “that the pandemic was not the right time to introduce changes to the rate of SSP or its eligibility criteria.”:
“This would have placed an immediate and direct cost on employers at a time where most were struggling and could have put more jobs at risk.
Government instead prioritised changes which could provide immediate financial support to individuals, including changes to the wider welfare system, the introduction of the Test and Trace Support Payment and wider economic support such as the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme.
As we emerge from the pandemic, there is space to take a broader look at the role of SSP. Chapter three covers the feedback from respondents to the proposals in the consultation that covered SSP.”
Ken Butler DR UK’s Welfare Rights and Policy Adviser said:
“The Government’s own consultation clearly shows there is widespread support for the extension of SSP to those earning below the LEL.
That and not increasing its weekly level or the limits on how long you can claim SSP are a major factor in stopping disabled people being able to stay in and progress in work.
SSP should be reformed to protect those who are lowest paid from being forced to work while unwell.”
Note: The Government also says in its consultation response that:
- it will take forward plans to provide greater clarity around employer/employee rights and responsibilities and reinforce the need for employers to have access to clear and compelling information and advice that is easy to understand;
- the DWP is working to transform Access to Work to deliver a modern, streamlined service, including a new digital customer journey that will deliver a quicker and more efficient service;
- the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is to encourage flexible working and to consult on making it the default unless employers have good reasons not to; and
- plans to improve access to occupational health to encourage more adjustments to be made for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions and help improve compliance with the reasonable adjustments duty.
In addition, the Government says that this consultation response along with the National Disability Strategy and the Health and Disability Green Paper are all supposed to be read together as part of its “holistic approach” to support disabled people to live full and independent lives.
The Government's response to the Health is everyone's business consultation is available from gov.uk.