COMPLIANCE
Reforming statutory sick pay: representing the views of the payroll industry
Samantha O’Sullivan ChMCIPPdip, policy and advisory lead and Mathew Akrigg ACIPP, policy and research officer, discuss the CIPP’s policy and research team’s journey in representing the voice of the payroll industry regarding potential changes to statutory sick pay (SSP)
Safe sick pay campaign Back in 2022, the CIPP became
SSP inquiry Let’s fast forward to November 2023. It was in this month that the Work and Pensions Select Committee started an inquiry exploring the current effectiveness of SSP in supporting claimants, and assessing whether it should be reformed "The results showed that payroll professionals, acting on behalf of employers, strongly believe change to the current statutory sick pay system is needed"
to better enable a recipient’s recovery and return to work. In alignment with our ongoing support of the Safe Sick Pay Campaign, the policy team released a survey asking payroll professionals to share their thoughts regarding the inquiry’s concerns, so that the CIPP could formally respond. The survey asked questions on: l whether the current rate of SSP is sufficient l if the three waiting days should be changed or removed l how SSP could be altered to better facilitate phased returns to work l whether SSP should be extended to include those earning below the LEL l what the best way would be for the government to support small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs), who may lack the resources to invest in best practice measures to help staff return to work.
supporters of the Safe Sick Pay Campaign, run by the Centre for Progressive Change¹. This campaign looks at the current rate of SSP and assesses whether it’s sufficient, given the current economic climate. To gauge our members’ thoughts on the issue, the policy team posted a Quick Poll on the News Online page of our website, and asked whether SSP should: l be paid at a higher rate l be payable from day one of sickness absence l not be subject to the lower earnings limit (LEL) l allow for flexible returns to work (i.e. part days) l be left as it is. The poll allowed for multiple answers, and the results can be seen within the table to the right.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | April 2024 | Issue 99 16
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