Event Details

Roundtable at the Labour Party Conference 2024 that bring together policy-makers, civil society and employers to discuss how sick pay reform can help de-risk pathways to staying in and returning to employment.

People in the UK are living and working longer than ever before. However, there are now over 2.8 million people economically inactive due to long-term health issues, and declining population health is a trend that is forecast to get worse in coming years.

Sick pay is a vital tool to support workers to rest and recuperate, and remain in employment over the long-term. However, the UK has one of the lowest Statutory Sick Pay levels amongst the richest nations in the OECD – just 17% of average weekly earnings – and over a million people are not eligible for SSP due to low earnings. The reality is that SSP has not kept up with the cost of living or with the UK’s declining health over recent years.

The new Government has committed to strengthening Statutory Sick Pay by removing the lower earnings limit to make it available to all workers and removing the four day waiting period. However, with Labour aiming for an 80% employment rate – and with the UK’s public health tied to its economic growth – should the UK be developing a more ambitious sick pay and time off system to support workers to recover and stay in work?

Hosted by the Work Foundation and the Centre for Progressive Change, this roundtable will bring together policy-makers, civil society and employers to discuss how sick pay reform can help de-risk pathways to staying in and returning to employment. It will ask what the core foundations of reforms should be – including changes to the level of sick pay, barriers to access and support packages for employers to help them introduce new policies.

Attendees include Sir Stephen Timms MP (Minister for Social Security and Disability), Mark Ferguson MP (and senior representatives from Health Foundation, Fabian Society, Mind and Young Lives vs Cancer.