Ill behaviour | Sick pay reform could boost UK economy by £3.9bn

Statutory sick pay reform could boost the economy by a whopping £3.9billion over the next five years, new research has revealed.

Leading benefits provider Unam’s research, conducted by WPI Economics and presented to Parliament today, shows how reforming the UK’s 40-year-old statutory sick pay system could save the Exchequer £1.3billion, in addition to the £3.9billion economic boost.

Under the current system, workers on statutory sick pay (SSP) receive £99.35 a week. Around two million – mainly women – do not qualify for SSP because their earnings fall below the statutory requirements for SSP (£118 a week). The data Unam used for their research suggests the Exchequer spends £850billion a year on SSP, with ill health that prevents employees from working costing the economy £130billion a year before the pandemic.

The proposed reforms