Kenneth Gibson MSP has criticised the UK Government for breaking a promise to grant sick pay for two million workers.
In 2019, the Tories accepted that employees on lower incomes are missing out on the protection that Statutory Sick Pay provides and promised to resolve this by extending it to a further two million workers.
However, UK Tory Ministers have backtracked stating:
“Now is not the right time to introduce changes to the sick pay system.”
The Trades Union Congress has reported that one in twelve key workers do not qualify for statutory sick pay despite being at a greater risk from COVID-19.
Kenneth said:
“The SNP has called for the UK Government to improve their sick pay policy on a number of occasions.
“More than half of workers in insecure jobs have received no pay at all when off sick, illustrating the need for a change in policy.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of supporting our workers with proper sick pay, allowing them to self-isolate to protect the health of others, with the assurance of financial support and job security.
“The UK Government must ensure this by granting sick pay to UK workers regardless of earnings or working hours.”
ENDS
