Labour have committed to back the reforms of the Safe Sick Pay campaign! After a year of campaigning on this issue, we are very pleased to see Labour commit publicly to all three reforms for the first time. 

 

The specific comments were revealed by Angela Rayner just this morning at TUC conference: “The UK has the lowest level of statutory sick pay in the OECD. The next Labour government will strengthen and increase statutory sick pay, make it available all workers by removing the lower earnings limit which cuts out those on low wages, and removing the waiting period which currently means workers can only access it from day four of sickness.”

 

This is fantastic news, as it represents the three key demands the Safe Sick Pay campaign has been calling for. Getting this on the Labour agenda is a big win for all of the organisations and individuals that have fought hard for sick pay reform. Please retweet us here. 

 

But we can’t rest easy - it is not yet clear for example what either party's policy position will be on the total rate of income replacement, to replace the currently inadequate rate of just £109 per week Statutory Sick Pay.

 

The current Conservative Government has not yet backed these reforms but there is positive support from a range of Conservative Parliamentary champions. We have recently met Treasury advisers on the subject of sick pay and submitted a policy briefing. 

 

We need to ensure that sick pay reforms happen as soon as possible, to ensure that no worker is left ill, under huge financial pressure and facing impossible choices because of an inadequate sick pay regime that further punishes the lowest paid workers in our society. To that end, the Safe Sick Pay campaign will keep pushing for these vital reforms. If you’d like to be involved please get in touch.