‘Class disparity’ over sick pay, with workers on low wages likely to miss out
WORKERS ON low wages are among those most likely to lack access to sick pay, new research suggests.
Older workers and those from ethnic minorities are also likely to be worse affected, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said.
A study by the think-tank indicated there was a “class disparity” in accessing pay when a worker is off sick.
Workers in outdoor trades, such as farming and construction, are five times more likely to lack access to sick pay than managers and senior officials, while those in manufacturing, manual trades, beauty, transportation and catering are around twice as likely to be worse off.
IPPR said too many workers were going without any protection because statutory sick pay in the UK was among the lowest in Europe. Dr Parth Patel, from the IPPR, said: “We all want to put the pandemic behind us, but the reality is that we need to understand how to successfully ‘live with Covid’. If we don’t, there is a real risk Covid-19 becomes an endemic disease of disparity, primarily circulating among poor and minority ethnic communities.
“Sick pay rates in the UK are among the lowest in the developed world, but until now it has been very poorly understood which workers actually lack access to any sick pay whatsoever.
“The class, race and age disparities in sick pay access are entrenching the inequalities exposed by the pandemic and constraining the UK’s ability to ‘live with Covid’. As the cost of living crisis takes hold, it will only become harder for people to isolate, which makes it more important that the Government acts now.”