Major change to sick pay rules next WEEK – how it affects you

A MAJOR change to sick pay rules from next week could affect how much money you can get if you're unwell.

Statutory sick pay (SSP) and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) are two of the main benefits you could get if you're ill.

The rules for getting them were adjusted during Covid to help out hard-up Brits.

Now they will return to normal from March 24, meaning Brits may get less cash to boost their income if they take time off sick.

SSP is worth £96.35 a week for those who qualify.

It's paid by employers for up to 28 weeks after the first three days of illness and if you're earning at least £120 a week.

SSP is the minimum you get under the law and your employer might pay more, or from the first day of being ill.

If you're self-isolating or sick from Covid you have been able to get SSP from day one - until now.

You'll no longer be entitled to this and if you're sick with Covid you'll have to wait until day four for SSP to kick in.

Anyone self-isolating has been able to claim from day one since March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic first hit and the rules were tweaked.

The temporary rule change for SSP has also applied to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), which you can claim if an illness or disability is affecting your capacity to work.

But from March 24 too, the rules will return to the pre-pandemic norm.

People who are ill or disabled can apply for ESA help of up to £74.70 a week, depending on circumstances.

When Covid hit, the government made tweaks to the benefit allowing those eligible to make a claim from the first day they were absent from work - instead of the usual eighth day.

From next week there will be a seven day wait again for claiming ESA.

To be eligible for ESA you need to have worked either as a self-employed worker or as an employee, have paid enough National Insurance contributions (usually in the last 2 to 3 years), and you can't get ESA if you claim Jobseeker's Allowance or Statutory Sick Pay.

There's no longer a legal requirement to self-isolate, even if you test positive for Covid.

It's part of the government's "Living with Covid" strategy that marks the end of two years of lockdowns and testing.

Households will no longer be able to get free Covid test kits from April 1.

And the £500 pay out to help hard-up Brits pay for bills if they were self isolating due to Covid ended in February.