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STATUTORY SICK PAY (SSP) is down by almost a tenth in real terms since the Tories came to power in 2010, SNP research reveals.
Scotland’s governing party blasted Downing Street for turning Britain into the “sick man of Europe” when it comes to supporting ill employees.
Its analysis of House of Commons Library data found that in 2009-10, sick pay was worth £120.01 a week in 2023-24 prices, whereas now it is only worth £109.40 – an 8.84 per cent slump.
The party also compared British SSP, which can only last a maximum of 28 weeks, to its much more generous European neighbours.
In Switzerland for example, payments can last for up to two years, while in Norway they can span 12 months.
Additionally, most European nations have a further period of paid sick leave after this, the SNP noted, with state benefits or health insurance paying a proportion of the employee’s previous salary.
The party’s business spokesman Richard Thomson said: “Britain is the sick man of Europe when it comes to the threadbare support Westminster offers to employees who are too ill to work.
“After decades of Tory and Labour Party failure, the government has fallen well behind on sick pay.
“While workers in neighbouring European countries get 100 per cent of their full wages, workers in Britain get little more than £100 a week – it’s truly pathetic.”
The MP for Gordon warned that the devastating Covid-19 pandemic shows what happens when “thousands of workers fall through the gaps and don’t get the help they need under Westminster control – but only with independence can Scotland introduce a fairer system.”
He urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to “explain why they won’t increase sick pay to the higher levels seen in Europe and why they are refusing to reverse the cuts Westminster has made to household incomes and workers’ rights.
“At the next election, voting SNP is the only way to secure independence, tackle the cost of living and escape the damage of Westminster control for good,” Mr Thomson claimed.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “Employers can decide to pay more in occupational sick pay and for longer – and many do.”
