MPs call for sick pay to be increased

MPs are calling for an increase in statutory sick pay, which they say does not offer adequate financial support for workers most in need.

Statutory sick pay (SSP) should also be made more widely available, said the Work and Pensions Committee. Unions have called for SSP to be increased for years and welcomed the report by MPs.

The committee said a “modest” increase to SSP in line with statutory maternity pay would strike a reasonable balance between providing extra financial support and not placing excessive extra costs on businesses.

MPs said all workers should be eligible for SSP, not just those earning above the lower earnings limit. The Government was urged to amend legislation so that SSP is paid in combination with usual wages in order to encourage phased returns to work.

Sir Stephen Timms, who chairs the committee, said: “Statutory sick pay is failing in its primary purpose to act as a safety net for workers who most need financial help during illness.

“With the country continuing to face high rates of sickness absence, the Government can no longer afford to keep kicking the can down the road on reform.”

MPs said of all the proposals for increasing the SSP rate, they believed a rate in line with the flat rate of statutory maternity pay would strike the best balance, increasing it to £172.48 a week from the current £109.40.

Rachel Suff, senior policy adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: “The UK’s statutory sick pay system is broken and doesn’t provide effective income protection for workers who are unable to work through sickness or injury.

“We are fully supportive of the recommendations to expand eligibility to those on the lowest incomes by abolishing the lower earnings limit as well as raise the SSP rate.”