‘Employment Rights Bill must go further to reform disgraceful sick pay system’

At £116.75 a week – just 17% of the average weekly wage – the UK’s Statutory Sick Pay system is nothing short of disgraceful, and it has let workers down for far too long.

Workers have been left facing financial hardship when they are at their most vulnerable, and after years of campaigns, it is a Labour government that has bridged both political will and action and introduced the Employment Rights Bill to lift millions of workers out of poverty pay.

I’m proud to have helped shape the Bill as a Shadow Minister, not just to reverse attempts by the Tories to rip up essential protections that unions fought for and secured, but to transform working rights, end the scourge of in-work poverty, and banish insecure work once and for all.

The Bill is a testament to Labour values, a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, dignity, protection and bargaining power for workers, and a safety net for the most vulnerable.

The UK is far behind many other European countries

But on sick pay, the UK is so far behind our contemporaries in Europe, where some workers can expect up to 100% of their wage when they are sick, in some places for up to 89 weeks. In comparison, our system is pitiable, and it’s no surprise that nearly a third of workers feel pressured to go into work while unwell because they can’t afford to stay home.

The knock-on effect of presenteeism isn’t just bad for workers, who are exposed to illnesses being passed around, suffer increased mental health conditions, and end up burnt out, but it’s also counterproductive for business, productivity and public health overall.

READ MORE: Full list of Employment Rights Bill amendments by MPs

Yet, without the two crucial amendments that I’ve tabled, we risk missing the mark for hundreds of thousands of workers who should be benefitting from the government’s proposals. The government is right to scrap the three-day waiting period and the lower earnings limit, which leaves millions ineligible for sick pay, but without raising the basic SSP rate, we risk workers still facing financial ruin.

That’s why my first amendment calls for SSP to be raised in line with the National Living Wage for full time workers. Falling ill doesn’t mean that your rent, bills and other financial commitments are reduced – often it means the opposite – so why should workers get paid poverty wages? Under my amendment, the basic rate would increase nearly threefold, consistent with average rates across Europe.

Workers facing long term conditions will face the biggest losses

As things stand, even with the government’s proposed fair earnings replacement, some workers will end up worse off. Over 300,000 people earn just above the current lower earnings limit, and it’s this group that will see their sick pay slashed under the new system.

The people who are the backbone of our economy, who keep our industries running, who are disproportionately women and young people, must not be penalised under the new proposals.

While it’s true that removing the waiting period puts more money in people’s pockets from the beginning of their illness, workers facing long-term conditions, recovering from serious operations or going through cancer treatment will face the biggest losses.

READ MORE: Paddy Lillis on life after Usdaw, Keir Starmer, and the Employment Rights Bill

That’s why my second amendment, New Clause 102, seeks a guarantee that no worker will lose out on sick pay compared to what they would have received under the current system.

As the Bill returns for Report Stage in the Chamber this week, I want to remind colleagues that my amendments aren’t just about numbers, but about ensuring that workers can rely on a Labour government to back them. The government’s mission for growth can only succeed if we build an economy that works for working people.

To do that, we need to create a system where workers can rest, recover, and return to work fully healthy, not one where they are forced back into the workplace before they’re ready.

The Employment Rights Bill is a pivotal moment, touted as the biggest upgrade to worker’s rights in a generation, and we must not waste a single opportunity to deliver just that.

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