Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how the number of people earning less than the lower earnings threshold for statutory sick pay has changed over the last five years.

Information on the number of people earning less than the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL), over the last five years, is not readily available and would incur a disproportionate cost. This would require significant analysis to ensure the underlying data would be robust.

As set out in the 2019 consultation, “Health is Everyone’s Business”, it was estimated that there were around 2 million employees who earned below the LEL and were therefore ineligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).