Do you get paid sick pay if you work through manpower the temp agency????

[MadameCastafiore]

Lady at work has been there nearly 2 years and hardly had any time off, maybe a couple of days in that whole time.

SHe was recently sick for a couple of days and is stunned - after them telling her that they pay up to 5 days sick - that she cannot claim any sick pay until she has been off of work for 3 days.

I think this is going to cause her a huge problem with her finances as she has really reacted badly to it!

Can anyone advise me as to what her rights are as a temp or if anyone is an employee or works for manpower what their terms and conditions are - can;t find anything on their website!!!

Many thanks

She can claim SSP. Any employer (even an agency) isn't required to pay anything over SSP.

Manpower couldn't pay sick otherwise they'd be paying sick out to people and not getting paid from the end company, it just wouldn't work.

Are organisations really allowed to employ people as temps for such long periods? I thought they had to make people permanent after a certain period? Or have I got that all wrong?

From October temporary workers who have been in their post for 13 weeks or more will get all the same entitlements as the colleagues they work with which includes sick and holiday pay.

Manpower, like any other agency, if they are in the position of employer (as opposed to recruitment agent for a self-employed person) have to pay statutory holiday, sick and maternity/paternity pay and should have factored that into the rate they charge organisations to provide a temp service.

OP in the case of your friend she should check her employment contract with regard to sick pay. It sounds like her employer is offering statutory sick pay which is their right to do, but if the contract states some sort of occupational sick pay they should honour that. But it depends what's in the contract.

Mm I think you are thinking of staff on fixed term contracts. The OP's friend may well have a permanent contract with manpower as her employer where her role is to be an office temp (no doubt with a flashier title).

This maybe that they only pay SSP which only kicks in on the fourth day that you are sick the details are on www.direct.gov.uk.