Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to publish the outcome of its consultation on statutory sick pay which closed on 7 October 2019.

We plan to publish the response to the consultation ‘Health is everyone’s business: proposals to reduce ill health-related job loss’ later this year. The consultation set out proposals to encourage all employers to take positive action to support employees who are managing health conditions in work, and to manage sickness absence more effectively.

Background

The consultation closed in October 2019. We have received a good response from a range of stakeholders and we are currently reviewing the detailed responses to inform decisions on next steps.

The consultation included proposals across four major policy areas:

1. Amend the legal framework to encourage early action to support individuals when they are absent from work and to facilitate more conversations to agree effective workplace modifications;

2. Reform of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) so that it is better enforced, more flexible, and support the lowest paid employees;

3. Measures to improve availability of high-quality, cost-effective occupational health (OH) services for employers; and

4. Advice and support from government for employers to understand and act on their responsibilities

The following special point should be noted:

The precise publication date has to be discussed and agreed with No.10.