Lack of action over sick pay makes demonstrating the value of insurance more important than ever

'There are two million workers on low earnings who don’t even qualify'

clock • 4 min read

While the Covid pandemic may have given the government a reason to delay Statutory Sick Pay reformation, it can't be delayed forever and the insurance sector may hold the key to real innovation, writes Unum's head of public policy, Simon Hodgson.

After months of waiting, the publication of the government's response to the Health is everyone's business consultation ended up making the headlines for what wasn't in it. Despite rumblings that the government would set out plans for reforming Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), the document instead sets out ministers' view that now is "not the right time" to make changes after all. I sympathise with policymakers stuck between a rock and a hard place, though. While not bringing forward reform can be portrayed as heartless, hastily reforming a vital part of the safety net during an unprecedente...

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