Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer ahead of Spending Review 2020 on increasing the level of statutory sick pay.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is paid entirely by employers to employees where they are sick or incapable of work and where they meet the qualifying conditions. As such SSP rates are not relevant to Spending Review discussions, which focus on Departmental Admin expenditure plans.

SSP provides a minimum level of income for employees when they are sick or incapable of work. It is designed to balance support for an individual when they are unable to work because of sickness with the costs to employers of providing such support. Some employers may also decide to pay more, and for longer, through Occupational Sick Pay.

This government has a strong safety net that helps people who are facing hardship and are unable to support themselves financially and we have taken steps to strengthen that safety net. SSP is just one part of our welfare safety net and our wider government offer to support people in times of need. Where an individual’s income is reduced while off work sick and they require further financial support, for example where they are not eligible for SSP, they may be able to claim Universal Credit and new style Employment and Support Allowance, depending on their personal circumstances. We have strengthened our wider safety net by temporarily increasing the standard allowance of Universal Credit by the equivalent of £20 per week, meaning that claimants will be up to £1,040 better off for the 20/21 tax year.

Background

The government recognises that small and medium employers may struggle to deal with the increased costs of sick pay as a result of coronavirus.

To support businesses with the temporary economic impacts related to coronavirus, small and medium employers with fewer than 250 employees, are currently able to reclaim up to two weeks’ of SSP paid per employee for sickness absences related to coronavirus.