§ Mrs. Monksasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what assessment is made by his Department of sickness benefit paid to individuals classified as staff, who are receiving full salary when sick; and what he is doing to stop individuals being better off when sick than working.
§ Sir K. JosephNone. Employed and self-employed people are entitled, by virtue of the national insurance contributions which they and their employers pay, to receive sickness benefit if they become incapable of work. Benefit is payable without regard to other income from either an employer's sick-pay scheme or any other source. In practice many 291W employers pay sufficient wages during short-term sickness to make up an employee's insurance benefit to the level of his normal pay; and the Government welcome this as good industrial practice.