Strengthen Statutory Sick Pay
Strengthen Statutory Sick Pay By Removing The Lower Earnings Limit and Waiting Days
The Labour government intend to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) by removing the ‘lower earnings limit’ and ‘waiting days’ before SSP is paid. Meaning all workers will be entitled to SSP from day one of any period of sickness.
Proposed Changes
This page was first published on 21 August 2024, updates will be made as more information is released.
Currently employees have to earn at least the Lower Earnings Limit to be eligible to receive SSP when off work sick. Removing the threshold would mean all workers would be qualify for SSP.
Waiting Days
Employees who qualify for SSP currently receive no pay for the first three days of any absence. The days are known as Waiting Days. Removing the waiting days would mean SSP is payable from the first day of sickness rather the fourth day.
Rate of Payment
Consideration will also be given to increasing the rate of SSP, currently £116.75. The proposal is to make it a ‘fair rate of pay’ this could mean aligning it with the flat rate of statutory maternity pay (currently £184.03 per week) or, if lower, 90% of earnings.
The UK has the lowest rate of sick pay in Europe. In January 2023, Ireland introduced sick pay entitlements of 70 per cent of normal pay up to a maximum of €110 (£96.24) a day.
Finland: Workers can claim a sickness allowance nine working days after their illness begins. The employer generally pays the employee’s wages during this waiting period, and many also pay the full salary during the first one or two months. Then, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland picks up the allowance, based on the worker’s average annual income. Total duration of benefit is 300 working days (about a year).
France: pay varies depending on the type of illness and professional status. But the daily allowance is typically 50 per cent of a worker’s wage, capped at €2,885.61 per month, meaning the daily allowance paid cannot exceed €47.43 per day. But when the sick leave exceeds three months, that daily allowance may be reassessed and increased. If the worker’s health condition warrants it, sick leave can last up to three years.
Germany: Workers receive full pay for the first 6 weeks of any absence then workers receive sick pay from the company’s health insurance company with a minimum payment of 70 per cent of their regular salary for up to 78 weeks (1.5 years) over a period of three years for the same illness.
Luxembourg: companies in Luxembourg are required to pay workers on sick leave their full salary for around three months, to be precise, to the end of the calendar month during which the 77th day of incapacity occurs. If the incapacity lasts beyond this period, the health insurance body grants an extension for up to 78 weeks (1.5 years).
Portugal: The longer the sick leave, the better it’s paid. Absences of up to one month are covered at 55 per cent of a worker’s average income, the rate increases to 70 per cent for an illness lasting over three months, and again to 75 per cent for sick leaves of over a year. The maximum benefit is 1,095 days (three years).
Spain: workers receive sick pay for 15 days (starting from the fourth day) at 60 percent of their salary. And in Italy, employees are entitled to receive half of their average daily wage in sick pay for the first 20 days they are off, when it goes up to two thirds once they’ve been off for three weeks.
Sweden: 80 per cent of salary, but it can be higher if there’s a collective agreement and is payable for 364 days, but an extension is possible with pay reducing to 75 per cent.
Timescales
These changes may be implemented relatively quickly because primary legislation is already in place. As we saw with the Covid pandemic, secondary legislation can be implemented relatively quickly. It seems likely that a new rate of SSP could take effect in April 2025 but it’s unclear if Labour will delay or phase in the removal of the LEL and waiting days.
Top Tips
These changes would mean increased costs for employers.
It is not currently clear whether the current self-certification rules would also change if there is a change to the waiting-days regime. Under the current regime, self-certification applies for the first seven days of any sickness absence and medical certificates are issued for absences that exceed seven days. That would increase GPs workload and the chances of an employee getting an appointment, even via the telephone, to request a medical certificate for one day of employment is unrealistic.
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