January 30, 2018
Millions of UK workers unaware of employer’s policy on statutory sick pay
Over 2.5 million UK workers are unaware of their employer’s policy on statutory sick pay and would face a significant salary shortfall if they were unwell and unable to work, claims new research from Direct Line. Just 4 percent of employees know how much they would be paid in statutory sick pay if they fell ill and many mistakenly believe that on average they would receive full salary for three and a half months if they were unable to work due to illness. In fact, 43 percent of firms reduce an employee’s wages to statutory sick pay after two weeks of an employee being off sick and one in six firms reduce wages to statutory sick pay after just four days. It is not only salaries people lose out on if they are off sick; one in five (21 percent) firms that pay bonuses withhold these if an employee has been off work on long term sick leave. More than a third of firms (33 percent) will pay bonuses based on pro-rata analysis of days worked and 14 per cent will pay a discretionary reduced rate.
Managers are working an extra 44 days a year over and above their contracted hours, up from 40 days in 2015. These long hours are taking their toll, causing a surge in sick leave amongst managers suffering from stress and mental ill health, claims the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), which is calling on UK employers to provide greater support. Long hours and constant communication are having a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of managers it argues resulting in one in ten managers taking time off for mental health in the last year, and for those who do take time out, it’s for an average of 12 days. Of the 1,037 managers surveyed for the report, the average boss puts in an extra day each week. This is an extra 7.5 hours beyond their contracted weekly hours (44.4 hours actual compared to 37.3 contracted), adding up to an extra 43.8 days over the course of the year. This is up from 39.6 days in 2015. The rising gap between contracted and actual hours of work is in addition to an ‘always on’ digital culture, with 59 percent of managers saying they ‘frequently’ check their emails outside of work – up from 54 percent in 2015.
There has been a rise in the number of people who believe businesses in the UK have a good reputation, with a significant number of younger people helping to create this positive picture. The research, comparing perceptions of businesses between May and November 2017, reveals 2 in 3 people think UK businesses have a good reputation, up 7 percent in 6 months. The tracker, conducted by the CBI in partnership with global PR agency, Porter Novelli, and research company, Opinium, revealed that the public are more aware of the value business provides in local communities with an increasingly vocal business community emerging in recent months. Importantly, the improvement in business reputation has largely been driven by young people and those in work, with a significant 15 percent rise in positive views among 18-34 year olds. This reinforces the view that younger people are more engaged in the debate about the UK’s future, with the Brexit negotiations and a sharper political debate intensifying the focus on jobs and the economy.
