50p-a-week statutory sick pay rise ‘miserly’
Unions have criticised a 50p-a-week increase in statutory sick pay as "miserly", warning it will undermine public health efforts as the economy reopens.
SP increases from £95.85 to £96.35 a week from today, but unions say it is too little to live on.
TUC general secretary Franceso'gradysaid:"noone should be plunged into hardshipiftheyneedtoself-isolate, but more than a year into this pandemic many workers still don't have access to decent sick pay. Today's miserly increase will do nothing to help people who get Covid. Statutory sick pay is just too little to live on.
"Ministershavethepowerto make self-isolation effective overnight and cut transmission immediately.
"They need to raise statutory sick pay to the level of the real Living Wage, and make sure everyone can get it. The Government's failure to act is undermining our public health effort and could lead to a rebound in infections as
hospitality and retail outlets reopen."
Thetucsaidtheukhasone of the lowest rates of sick pay in Europe, while nearly two million workers do not earn enough to qualify for it - most of them women. Workers receiving statutory maternity,paternity,adoptionoradditional paternity pay and the self-employed are not eligible to receive SSP, said the TUC.
A Government spokesman said: "There is a comprehensive package of financial support in place for workers who need to self-isolate, including a £500 payment for those on the lowest incomes.”