Statutory Sick Pay and a living wage

That this House expresses its concern at Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) being at its lowest level since 2003, according to research by the TUC; notes that SSP is worth £3 per week less in real terms now than it was at the start of the pandemic; believes that no-one should be forced to choose between self-isolating and paying their bills; further believes that adequate sick pay is a vital public health tool within a pandemic; considers that the Government’s failure to expand and increase SSP has had a devastating impact on the health and well-being of some low-paid workers; and therefore calls on the Government to remove the lower earnings limit, so that every worker is entitled to SSP, and to increase the value of Statutory Sick Pay to at least that of the Real Living Wage as determined by the Living Wage Foundation.