Employment Law Update: Changes To SSP Entitlement

It’s an ever-changing time for employment law at the moment, and today the government has announced their new plan to change the earning requirement on statutory sick pay (SSP).

Currently, workers who earn less than £123 a week are not entitled to any SSP. When this comes in force (and it is expected to be introduced next year), it will mean that 1.3 million low-paid workers will be entitled to 80% of their weekly salary as sick pay. Combining this with the enhanced protection that the Employment Rights Bill grants employees, they will be able to claim SSP from day one of sickness. The Department for Work and Pensions said that this new SSP scheme would keep more people off welfare as they will not need to quit their jobs to get better.

This change is part of a number of proposed changes to the Employment Rights Bill (for more information on what the Employment Rights Bill currently entails, click here: https://www.wilsonbrowne.co.uk/news/business/employment-law-update-july-2024/ ). We expect there to be a further announcement in relation to the Bill’s updates and changes tomorrow (Tuesday 4 March).

Make sure you are checking our socials and website tomorrow for a summary of the key announcements.