Statutory Sick Pay

It is unacceptable that in 2025, too many families are being driven further into poverty, reliant on foodbanks, and left struggling to make ends meet due to the inadequacies of the welfare system.

The legacy of the previous Conservative Government’s approach to welfare has, unfortunately, exacerbated these problems. Their backward-looking view of work and families has resulted in a system that punishes rather than supports, leaving many people trapped in poverty, unable to find the support they need at their most vulnerable times.

My Liberal Democrat Parliamentary colleagues and I recognise the need for a system that works for the modern world—one that offers proper support and helps people back into work where possible, while ensuring that no one is left behind. We are committed to building a welfare system that serves people’s needs, rather than one that is designed for a bygone era.

One of the key areas in which the current system is failing is Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). The current level of SSP is far too low to support workers, particularly those in precarious employment or on lower incomes. Too many are forced to choose between taking time off when they are unwell and facing the financial hardship of not being able to make ends meet.

To address this, the Liberal Democrats have made a clear manifesto commitment to fix the broken SSP system. This includes:

• Expanding access to SSP for the more than one million workers earning less than £123 a week, the majority of whom are women, who are currently excluded from receiving any statutory support.
• Aligning the SSP rate with the National Minimum Wage to ensure that it is truly a living wage for all.
• Introducing SSP from the first day of absence rather than the fourth, so that workers are not penalised for needing time to recover from illness.
• Providing support to small employers by consulting with them to ensure that they are not burdened by the costs of providing SSP and are given the help they need.

This is just one part of our vision for a fairer and more compassionate society, but it is a critical step in fixing a system that has been broken for far too long.