80% Sick Pay SSP Minimum for Low Earners

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that the minimum Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for lower paid workers will be increased to a minimum of 80% of pay.

SSP is currently a maximum of £116.75 per week when you are off ill for more than 3 consecutive days (your employer may offer a sickness scheme too). 

To qualify for SSP you must:

• Have been with your current employer for a least 8 weeks.
• Earned on average at least £123 per week.
• Can only claim SSP for a maximum of 28 weeks.

Lower Earners

This means that someone who is earning less than £123 per week does not currently qualify for SSP.  As part of the Employment Rights Bill (currently at House of Commons Committee Stage and due to move to Report Stage on 11 March), lower earners will be soon be entitled to SSP at:

The lower of:

• 80% of your weekly pay.
• SSP at the time of illness (currently £116.75 per week).

Comment

Is this a game changer? 

• Not really, the DWP estimates that 1.3m more employees will now have SSP rights but we suggest with mininum wage already at £12.21 per hour for 21+ year olds and £10.00 per hour for 18+ year olds from April 2025, you only have to be working c10-13 hours per week to qualify for SSP.
• This will only really affect those working 1-9 hours per week.
• Therefore, if you are 19 years old, working part time, say 8 hours a week whilst at University at £10 per hour, that’s just £90 per week.  Minimum SSP will be the lower of  …
• 80% of your weekly pay £90 per week = £72 per week.
• Main SSP rate at the time of illness (currently £116.75 per week).
• We suspect it will not change the lives of lower earners working only a few hours a week anyway but every little helps we suppose.

Many forget, despite the name Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), it is no longer the government that pays SSP, it is employers.  This will not be too much of a burden on employers but yet again, it is another ‘kick in the teeth’ given larger than inflation minimum wage increases from April, employer NIC rises to 15%, employer NIC payment thresholds reducing from £175 per week (£9,000 pa) to just £96 per week (£5,000 pa) as well as related work place pension costs, holiday pay etc.

We also suggest, this is another subtle move in that the Government expects more employers to start recruiting even more employees for lower hours/lower pay to escape the Employers NIC rate hike and threshold reduction and if more and more people end up having let’s say 3 jobs, each at 9 hrs a week, they would not qualify SSP but will do under this new law when it is enacted.