Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of ending the covid-19 (a) special leave and (b) sick pay provisions for NHS staff on 1 September 2022.

The Department introduced temporary non-contractual COVID-19 sickness guidance at the start of the pandemic, to ensure National Health Service staff received full pay should they be advised to self-isolate or become ill with COVID-19. As we learn to live with COVID-19, we have withdrawn this guidance. Staff who were on COVID-19 sickness pay have moved back to the normal terms and conditions (T&Cs) sickness arrangements. The NHS T&Cs pay up to six months full pay and six months half pay depending on length of service.

We have completed an equalities assessment which concluded that the withdrawal of the guidance is considered to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim to equalise treatment of all staff with longer-term sickness absence.