Cancer Charities Call for Increase in Statutory Sick Pay
Cancer charities have issued a stark warning, calling for an urgent increase in the ‘inadequate’ statutory sick pay as they estimate around a quarter of a million UK workers living with cancer are struggling to cover essential costs.
The Safe Sick Pay campaign, supported by various cancer and health charities, has penned a letter to both Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, urging for a significant change. They argue that Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) should be aligned with a worker’s normal earnings up to the Living Wage to adequately support those battling cancer to ‘recover and return to work safely’.
This plea comes on the heels of the Prime Minister’s recent speech on welfare reforms where he pledged to dismantle the ‘sick note culture’, a move that drew flak for its perceived ‘hostile rhetoric’.
The Safe Sick Pay campaign highlighted a study by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, which found that individuals on SSP during cancer treatment could face an income loss of tens of thousands of pounds in extreme cases.
Campaigners emphasized that government reforms to ensure employers pay a higher rate of sick pay from day one would not only be an act of compassion but also ‘good economic sense’.
A representative for the Department of Work and Pensions stated that there is a ‘wide financial safety net’ to support those who are too ill to work, including SSP, Universal Credit, and Pip.
