Low-paid workers unwell for four weeks would be in hardship despite changes in employment bill, charity finds
Ministers are being urged to raise the basic rate of statutory sick pay from 3 an hour – one of the lowest in the developed world – after a report found the government’s changes would leave more than 1.6 million people unable to pay essential bills.
Charities are warning that only a fraction of low-paid workers will be helped to avoid the “huge cliff-edge” of lost earnings despite improvements to statutory sick pay (SSP) in the employment rights bill, which will be scrutinised by MPs this week.
A report by Citizens Advice has found that the changes will leave 78% of those on the lowest incomes – the equivalent of 1.6 million people – unable to pay their bills if they have to rely on SSP for four weeks.
Tom MacInnes, the director of policy at Citizens Advice, said: “The proposed reforms to the system are welcome but they don’t go far enough. Crucially, the amount of SSP people receive must be increased so it more closely reflects national living wage.
“Otherwise we will continue to see people driven into hardship and debt when they get sick, or working through injury and illness when they should be recovering.”
The UK has one of the “stingiest” rates of SSP in the developed world, according to the Resolution Foundation, at just 118.75 a week – or 3 an hour – for full-time workers from April.
More than 7 million people in the UK rely on SSP when they fall ill but...
When a company promises to save the planet by 2050, it sounds reassuring. But what if that promise comes with no real plan, no credible evidence, and no accountability? A sweeping new study reveal...