Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government consultation entitled Health is everyone’s business, published by the Government on 15 July 2019, whether it is her policy that (a) the Lower Earnings Limit for eligibility for Statutory Sick Pay may result in people working when unwell and (b) eligibility for Statutory Sick Pay should be extended to workers earning less than the Lower Earnings Limit.

One of the ideas in last year’s consultation, “Health is everyone’s business”, was to extend Statutory Sick Pay eligibility to those earning below the Lower Earnings Limit. The rationale was that this would provide a stronger link between the employer and employee, make a return to work more likely, and therefore reduce ill-health related job loss.

We received a good response from a range of stakeholders and we are currently reviewing the detailed responses to inform decisions on next steps. A response to the consultation will be published later this year.