{"id":105726,"date":"2025-03-09T10:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-09T10:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=105726"},"modified":"2025-03-09T12:12:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-09T12:12:53","slug":"ssp-crisis-8-3-million-uk-workers-struggling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/ssp-crisis-8-3-million-uk-workers-struggling\/","title":{"rendered":"SSP Crisis: 8.3 Million UK Workers Left Struggling Despite Government Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The UK government\u2019s proposed Employment Rights Bill aims to extend statutory sick pay <\/strong>(SSP) to an additional 1.3 million workers. However, campaigners warn that the reform fails to address a fundamental issue: millions will still receive pay far below the minimum wage if they fall ill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, around 8.3 million workers in the UK rely on SSP, which amounts to just \u00a3116.75 per week\u2014a fraction of what is considered a liveable income. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those working 35 hours per week, this equates to just \u00a33.33 per hour<\/strong>, significantly lower than the national minimum wage. With many facing financial hardship during illness, experts argue that the system remains among the weakest in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UK Statutory Sick Pay Among the Lowest in Europe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The UK\u2019s sick pay system ranks near the bottom compared to other European nations. According to research by The Compensation Experts<\/a>, the UK is 40th out of 42 European countries in terms of employer-paid statutory sick pay.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most European countries, employers cover at least 50% of a worker\u2019s salary<\/strong> during sick leave, with some nations such as Norway, Luxembourg, and Iceland providing 100% coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the UK government\u2019s reforms, sick pay remains far below the cost of living. Dr Matt Padley, a social policy researcher at Loughborough University, warned that SSP is \u201cnot enough to live on\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that workers relying on SSP for extended periods face severe financial strain, often forcing them to return to work <\/a>prematurely, potentially worsening their health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial Strain for Workers With Serious Illnesses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For many, statutory sick pay is not just a short-term inconvenience but a severe financial burden. Cancer patients and those with long-term illnesses are particularly affected. Danny Hine-Berry<\/strong>, diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2022, was earning just \u00a396 per week in sick pay at the time\u2014a dramatic drop from his usual income. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt left me in a lot of financial difficulty. And when you’re going through something like that, you should be able to focus on getting better. But instead, I had kind of all these worries and stress about money on top of my physical health problems.\u201d he told The Independent<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Alan Barton<\/strong>, an engineer diagnosed with bowel cancer, said that SSP amounted to just a fifth of his previous salary. \u201cThere were definitely times we were having to count pennies,\u201d he said. Many workers in this situation are left with a difficult choice: return to work early or face financial hardship<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campaigners argue that sick pay reform should ensure a minimum income aligned with the cost of living<\/strong>. While the government defends its changes as a step towards broader support for workers, critics maintain that without a significant increase in sick pay rates, many will continue to struggle when they need financial stability the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New government reforms aim to extend SSP eligibility, but critics say they don\u2019t go far enough. Millions of workers will still receive as little as \u00a33 an hour if they fall sick. Experts warn that the UK\u2019s sick pay system ranks among the worst in Europe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":105728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employment","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105726"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105729,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105726\/revisions\/105729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}