Husbands job has no sick pay-is this common

[2catsandcounting43]

So, im just looking for opinions really/possibly a place to vent. Its just cost us £60 quid a month to get income protection insurance for my husband as his job does not offer sick pay and its considered a more risky job (hes a forklift truck driver). Hes worked there for 20 years and he just gets SSP, a poor pension that they only started when they legally had to and their annual leave is also the legal minimum.
I know I cant go on at him to leave if hes happy there and I know he stays because its a small business and he likes his boss but I think that's a pretty crap package and I wouldn't be standing for it.
Ladies of mumsnet would you be annoyed?

What do you do for a living?

I'd say his job was his concern. Getting annoyed about his 'poor package' 20 years in seems a bit pointless.

I work in the NHS. When you have 2 children and with the cost of living being the way it is I'd say that ive every right to be concerned.
Please note i have said that im not going on at him to change his job.

Loads of jobs only provide the bare legal minimum. Mine included. I do campaign for improvement but it's not likely any time soon.

SSP may be the default but in practice they might pay more for some workers with long service.

However as mentioned, little point asking him to change if he has been there 20 years. £60 is much, can he ask for a pay rise to cover it?

They dont pay anymore for long service which i think is wrong as its not rewarding loyalty.
Hes not really the type to ask for a pay rise and with everything going up it does feel like a lot.
Guess im very fortunate to work for the NHS I didn't realise how common the bare minimum was.

If it's a small business then presumably they don't make a large profit and to provide more than SSP would cut this even further.
It's only within government departments and larger corporations that 'good packages' are the norm. Everywhere else attempts to attract workers by dint of a good salary and nothing more.

It’s a good job but I suspect a fork lift truck driver is going to be subject to those sorts of conditions wherever they work as it’s usually warehousing, so I doubt he’s able to “not stand for it?”

I know it’s a tricky one but I’m also not sure income protection insurance is a great substitute for sick pay- sick pay kicks in immediately income protection would only Be in certain circumstances over a longer period. That said, many employers would dismiss someone who had >6 months sick leave so I guess if it’s a long term illness you’d benefit from it regardless?

It kicks in after 4 weeks and it runs for a 12 month period following that. Do you know of any better alternatives?
Yes its warehousing and as to your comment of "not standing for it" I just mean that I consider the what a company is offering me on the whole not just basic salary so I personally wouldn't take a job with so little benefits
.

No I don’t, insurance isn’t designed to cover for sick pay ie pay for a week because you have food poisoning. It’s just for long term conditions unfortunately.

He should apply for some new jobs and use whatever he is offered to negotiate better conditions if he wants to stay.

I have an incredibly good sick package (it ultimately pays me for seven years) and it’s one of the reasons I’m sticking with the company because it’s a more appreciated benefit as I get older.

You're lucky you work for nhs, full pay when off sick. Thats why people take the piss and absence is massive in the NHS.
My bil got £138 pw sick pay last month, worked all his life and the company is allowed to do this, also taking the piss.

My last employer only gave 5 weeks sick pay, increasing to 6 weeks with long service. I left to work for the civil service and now get 6 months full pay and 6 months half pay.

It's pretty common in the private sector especially small businesses

It's very easy to take public sector sick pay for granted!

Its a family business, I dont think he's short of a few bob judging by the nice house and he bailed both his sons out of a lot of uni debt!
Both sons work for the business so there's zero room for progression either but it doesnt really matter as my husband isn't career minded.

Loads of people don’t get sick pay, so certainly not just him, but if he isn’t happy find another job, strange it took 20 years to moan about it.

I mean, all the jobs my husband has done have just been SSP, so it's normal, not great, but definitely true of a lot of jobs

God some people on here are bitchy for no reason.
I have 'moaned' about it in the past but he doesnt want to change his job. I was shocked at the price of the income protection but there is nothing I can do about it.
Personally I've always worked for bigger companies so I wasn't aware that just SSP and having to fork out for insurance to bridge this isn't that uncommon x

My DH works for a small business with no sick pay, it is a concern.

We looked at income insurance and it didn’t seem worth it - there’s usually a clause saying that you must be unfit for ANY type of employment, which is very hard to prove. So if he was to injure his back for example, the insurance company would say he could still do office work and not pay out. I would be interested in knowing what policy you’ve found, if it covers sickness from a particular employment.

God some people on here are bitchy for no reason.
I have 'moaned' about it in the past but he doesnt want to change his job. I was shocked at the price of the income protection but there is nothing I can do about it.
Personally I've always worked for bigger companies so I wasn't aware that just SSP and having to fork out for insurance to bridge this isn't that uncommon x

“Insurance to bridge” it is uncommon because most people don’t see income protection insurances as a replacement for sick pay. It’s considered an insurance for when you can’t work long term.

Thanks for explaining

Almost all minimum wage jobs only have SSP which normally only kicks in after 3 days. So care workers, shop workers, hospitality workers.

I’ve had only ssp in every private sector job I’ve ever had.

now I’m disabled and have mh problems I’m really glad I’m in the public sector - I haven’t needed time off on sick but I suspect I might at some point and although I’ve taken a salary drop it’s nice to have the safety net of paid sick leave there in case I need it.

Thanks. Husbands job isn't minimum wage but the pay isn't fantastic and you dont need any qualifications to work there so this makes more sense now