1.3 low paid workers (earning less than £123 per week) to be entitled to 80% sick pay from day 1!!

[ByQuaintAzureWasp]

The government has told us they want to promote growth (increase GDP) ... great. They've hammered small businesses with NI threshold reduction and Increasing employers NI %. Yesterday they announce they are going to guarantee that 1.3 million workers, earnings £123 or less per week will get sick pay from the first day of absence and this will be paid at 80% of normal pay.

How is this contributing to growing the economy and helping small and medium sized businesses?

Am I being unreasonable in thinking it's lunacy?

Heavens, paying people when they're ill. Whatever will they think of next.

Tory voter I presume?

If a company can’t afford to provide a basic level of care to staff, such as sick pay, then they have no right being in business. Making money out of the exploitation of workers is immoral

It's ok op. Just let the well off keep on building their nest eggs...fuck the poor eh?

Labour govt protecting low-paid workers SHOCKER.

What about the employment allowance OP?
Very small employers will benefit from not having to pay up to £10k in NI.

There speaks someone who has never had to rely on SSP, which is a pittance anyway, let alone not being paid for the first 3 days of sickness.

So it's OK for managers to get sick pay but not us menial workers?

Really? you are choosing to pick on people who are earning £123 a week or less?

Of course they should get sick pay from day one.

I assume you are the type of people who thinks that workhouses and sending kids up chimneys were a good idea...

Pathetic.

Genuine question, OP - how does impoverishing ordinary workers help to grow the economy?

No not a Tory voter actually.

So how is this policy going to promote growth and help businesses?

With respect, the poor need to work more than 10 hours a week, unless they are restricted from doing so because of health.

It’s just essentially broadening the eligibility of Statutory Sick Pay to those who earn less than £123 a week, who aren’t currently eligible for it. It’s not a wholesale change to the way sick pay is approached. Businesses will cope with it: it might sound like a lot of workers nationwide, but there will be relatively few employees working fewer than ten hours a week spread across each UK business.

It's about treating people fairly and not having people unafford to buy food cause they had a sickness bug for a couple of days. Sod growth.

I'm not 'picking on' anybody. I'm asking how this promotes growth?

I'm hoping it includes people on more than that amount, who also don't get paid for the first 3 days.

Good point about LEL/sick pay.

SSP is something like £23 per day...can you live on that, OP?!?

No, not that I can see.

I absolutely could not but that's why I've always worked either full time or had another job on top of full time. I do get some people can't however.

If you earn £550 per week you'll have 3 waiting days for SSP and you'll get, just over 20% of your weekly pay - how is that equitable and fair?
Growth improves the lives of everybody, that's the theory. We can't sod growth, the country will never get out of debt and the country will go bankrupt.

If you get that some people can't work full-time, or can only work in low paid jobs, why would you begrudge them £23 a day SSP?

God the goady bollocks on here isn't even intelligent any more

Not everything that happens in this world has to promote growth. Growth is not God.

How about you get more money from the Rich to help the economy, rather than than begrudging the poor the essentials. You sound very right wing.

I think it’s a good thing. In the next budget I predict Labour will tax low and middle earners much harder, scandi-style. Probably a good idea all round, but principles cost money.