Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of paying Statutory Sick Pay at an hourly rate.

No one should be forced to choose between their health and financial hardship, which is why we plan to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), so it provides a safety net for those who need it most. The Plan to Make Work Pay commits to remove the Lower Earnings Limit to make it available to all workers and remove the waiting period so that SSP is paid from the first day of sickness absence. Together these changes will ensure everyone receives fair earnings replacement when they have to take time off work.

As part of these changes consideration will be given as to how to best structure the payment rate for individuals earning below the flat weekly rate of SSP.