Safe sick pay is good for workers, good for employers and good for public health

It is an outrage that most outsourced facilities management (FM) workers in government buildings such as security guards and cleaners are only entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP).

Under SSP rules you aren’t paid for the first three days of illness and from the fourth day of illness you are paid a reduced rate of £109.40 per week or £21.88 a day. There is also an earnings threshold of £123 per week which means most part time staff do not qualify for any sick pay at all.

A 2023 survey of PCS members employed in facilities management roles found that 78% of respondents admitted that they continued to work when unwell, because they couldn’t afford to take time off to recover when sick. This is a clear workplace health and safety issue that both civil service departments and outsourcing employers must address. If workers go to work when sick, they are likely to make other workers sick and are unable to perform to their full potential. This hurts employers and the wider economy.

PCS is a supporter of the Safe Sick Pay campaign which is calling for:

• the three-day waiting period before payment of Statutory Sick Pay to be scrapped,
• the £123 per week lower income threshold to be scrapped,
• the rate of SSP to be increased significantly.

Safe sick pay from day one has been a key demand in our model FM pay claims. PCS members employed on the ex BEIS/ISS, OCS/Ministry of Justice, Royal Parks/Just Ask and FCDO/Mitie contracts have campaigned and won sick pay from day one. We encourage you to speak to your local PCS representative about launching a sick pay campaign in your workplace.