Statutory Sick Pay: Coronavirus

(asked on 25th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who are clinically extremely vulnerable have registered for statutory sick pay since July 2020 because their workplace was not covid-secure.


Answered by
Justin Tomlinson Portrait
Justin Tomlinson
This question was answered on 30th November 2020

Employees do not need to register for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Employers are legally required to pay SSP to eligible employees who are sick or incapable of work, where their employee meets the eligibility criteria. The government does not collect, or require the reporting of, any data on sickness absences from employers and so does not hold data on the number of clinically extremely vulnerable individuals receiving SSP.

In England, shielding was paused nationally from 1 August 2020 to 5 November 2020. During this period, clinically extremely vulnerable individuals were not eligible for SSP on the basis of being clinically extremely vulnerable as they were not advised to shield and were able to go to work if they could not work from home. Clinically extremely vulnerable employees can be furloughed if their employer is eligible to do so.

All employers are required to take steps to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace. If an individual has concerns about their health and safety at work, they can raise them with any union safety representatives, or ultimately with the organisation responsible for enforcement in their workplace, either the Health and Safety Executive or their local authority.

SSP is available to clinically extremely vulnerable individuals who have been advised to stay at home (known as shielding) and are unable to work as a result. Individuals will receive a notification, advising them on the shielding advice to follow and how long for. This notification may be in the form of a letter from their doctor or from the government.

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