Recommendation 2

The rate of Statutory Sick Pay is too low. Of all the proposals for increasing the SSP rate, we think a rate in line with the flat rate of Statutory Maternity Pay would strike the best balance. It would increase the rate to £172.48 per week (using the 2023–24 rate), or 90% of earnings, whichever was lower. This would be considerably more than the 2023–24 SSP rate of £109.40 but not so much as to place unreasonable additional costs on most employers. The 90% replacement rate for those earning below the flat rate of SMP would ensure, as the current SSP system does, that no one’s SSP payments could exceed their usual earnings. By the start of financial year 2025–26, the Government should increase the rate at which Statutory Sick Pay is paid in line with the flat rate of Statutory Maternity Pay.