Coronavirus Bill, that includes power to pay SSP from day one, given its first reading in the House of Commons

Bill also includes provision to enable employers with fewer than 250 employees to reclaim SSP paid for coronavirus-related sickness absences

The Coronavirus Bill, that includes power to pay SSP from day one, was given its first reading in the House of Commons today

Setting out details of the bill earlier this week, the government said that it covers five main areas -

• increasing the available health and social care workforce;
• easing the burden on frontline staff;
• containing and slowing the virus;
• managing the deceased with respect and dignity; and
• supporting people.

In relation to 'supporting people', the government said that the bill is seeking to -

• give the government the power to temporarily suspend the rule that means statutory sick pay (SSP) is not paid for the first three days of work missed because of sickness absence; and
• enable employers with fewer than 250 employees to reclaim SSP paid for sickness absences relating to coronavirus during the period of the outbreak.

NB - the government also confirmed that it intends the provisions allowing SSP to be paid from day one of coronavirus related sickness absence to have retrospective effect from 13 March 2020.

For more background information, see Emergency bill to strengthen coronavirus (COVID-19) response plans from gov.uk

The Coronavirus Bill 2019-21, that will be read a second time on Monday 23 March 2020, is available from parliament.uk