Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of workers that are entitled to sick pay at a rate higher than statutory sick pay.

Occupational sick pay schemes are a contractual matter between employer and employee. Many employers pay more and for longer than the statutory minimum through occupational or contractual sick pay arrangements and we continue to encourage employers to do so.

There is information on type of sick pay paid normally from surveys of employers and employees. The most recent of these are a survey of employers conducted in 2018 (last published in 2021) and a survey of employees conducted in 2014 (published in 2015). Links to both of these surveys can be found below.

Sickness absence and health in the workplace: understanding employer behaviour and practice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Health and wellbeing at work: a survey of employees, 2014 (publishing.service.gov.uk)