New sick pay rate ‘falls short’ of supporting workers

From today (April 6) statutory sick pay (SSP) is set to increase by £3, increasing from £96.35 to £99.35.

This means that employees who are too poorly to work will be compensated with the rate, which organisations can pay more of if they wish to.

However, despite this increase, experts have warned that changes do not go far enough in supporting staff members and is set below “survival rate”.

Frances O’Grady, general secretary for the Trades Union Congress (TUC), claimed that the increase is “minimal” and means that it is still set below “survival rate”.

“Statutory sick pay in the UK is by far the lowest in Europe. And two million of the lowest paid don’t qualify for it at all,” she explained.

“Time and time again we warned ministers that sick pay wasn’t enough to live on.

“After more than two years of the pandemic, it’s inhumane and counter-productive for ministers not to have fixed our broken sick pay system.”

O’Grady added that “enough is enough” when it comes to properly supporting sick employees, advising that sick pay should be paid at the real Living Wage so people can afford to cover their bills and outgoings when they are unwell.

Falling short

Reflecting on the rising rate of inflation and increasing prices to energy and fuel, Noelle Murphy, senior HR practice editor at XpertHR, stated that the new rate “falls well short of supporting an individual who cannot work due to sickness”.

“Where sick pay is not enhanced by employers, employees will be under enormous pressure to work. With the return to the workplace well under way, employees who attend the office while unwell will jeopardise not only their own wellbeing but also the wellbeing of their colleagues,” she added.

Murphy noted that due to the coronavirus statutory sick pay rebate scheme being closed too, there is now an added amount of pressure on employers to cover SSP during a time where absences related to sickness are still rife due to Covid-19.

Join the Payroll & Reward Conference this June to hear about the latest pay and employee benefits challenges and how to overcome them. Get your tickets here.