Three-quarters of Londoners want increase to statutory sick pay

Three-quarters of Londoners want an increase to statutory sick pay, a poll revealed on Monday, amid fears that many employees are forced to work through illness to avoid losing money.

A poll by Focal Data, commissioned for the Safe Sick Pay campaign, found that 75 per cent of Londoners polled in 2024 backed an increase to the weekly amount of sick pay paid out by employers.

The current weekly rate for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is £116.75 for up to 28 weeks, but workers must earn more than £123 per week to access the payment. Some employers may choose to pay their staff more and for longer.

Many workers, particularly on zero-hours contracts, face obstacles when claiming SSP as staff are only entitled to payment for the days they would have been scheduled to work.

But as many employees only receive their shifts a week or two in advance, they can lose out on SSP as it only kicks in after three days of illness.

Increasing SSP was found to be popular among Conservative voters in London, with 69 per cent of 620 voters polled who previously indicated they were backing Susan Hall in the Mayoral Elections confirming they support an increase to SSP.

The Safe Sick Pay campaign, which consists of a coalition of organisations and individuals working to reform the UK’s sick pay regime, surveyed 3,214 voters in Greater London.

Last week, the Liberal Democrats promised to make SSP available to more than one million workers earning less than £123 a week and to align the rate with the National Minimum Wage.

While Labour has not yet committed to an increase in the weekly amount, the party has said it will scrap the three unpaid waiting days.

The Conservatives have resisted any reform of the system, despite the House of Commons’ work and pensions committee concluding in April that SSP is too low.

‘My manager called me a difficult woman’

Sofia Torres, 43, moved to London from Colombia around 14 years ago. After initially working as a nanny, she took a job as a cleaner at The Shard but suffered from back pain that eventually required surgery.

Sofia Torres, 43. struggled to access SSP when she worked as a cleaner (Sofia Torres)

She told the Standard: “I was working extra hours and weekends but eventually it began to impact my health. I developed a problem with my spine from lifting heavy things at work and fibroids.”

Ms Torres collapsed in the street and was rushed to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Doctors advised that she undergo surgery, which left her unable to work for two months.

Though she was eligible for SSP, Ms Torres said her former employer did not give her the payment she was legally entitled to - leaving her in financial difficulty. She was also not paid for the three first days of her illness.

“It was terrible. Sometimes I could not understand how my life had got to that moment. But through my faith, I found that I was not alone and found the strength to continue.”

Shortly before leaving the cleaning company, Ms Torres contacted management to demand the payment she was owed.

“My manager told me I was being a ‘very problematic woman’,” she said. “I responded that I was only asking for my rights. I started to cry, but looking back it was a significant moment for me.”

A survey carried out last year by the Centre for Progressive Change (CPC) found that more than a third of cleaners have worked while ill due to a lack of sick pay.

Ms Torres is now working as a campaigner for Safe Sick Pay and seeking to help other people in a similar position.

“There are a lot of people who can’t speak English that well and don’t know their rights. No worker should have to go through this.”

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