Statutory sick pay arrangements
The Minister said a scheme making employers responsible for an initial period of disability benefit was still being examined, with administrative and policy issues unresolved. The original proposal covered 13 weeks, but that period and how payments would be recouped remained under review.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare when he will introduce the new arrangements for the payment of disability benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Comment on this
The question of introducing a statutory sick pay scheme under which employers would be responsible for payment of benefit to their employees for an initial period of illness has been under examination. An inter-departmental committee who examined the implications of such a scheme identified a number of crucial policy issues to be resolved before such a scheme could be introduced. A scheme on these lines has major implications for the administration of the disability benefit scheme and the timing of its introduction has to be considered in the context of the other major developments taking place in the administration of the social welfare system. The examination of this issue is ongoing and I will be putting forward detailed proposals in this area in due course.
Comment on this
What are the crucial policy decisions under consideration before the Minister introduces the new scheme?
Comment on this
The change involved is a very extensive operation. The Deputy may be aware that it took several years to find a workable scheme and introduce it in Great Britain because of factors within the payments systems. Various elements had to be teased out. It is largely an administrative question and will involve discussions with employers' organisations. We will have to find a system of phasing that would be workable both from the point of view of the employers, the Department of Social Welfare and the recipient so that he or she will have a service that is as effective as the existing one.
Comment on this
Is it the Minister's intention that employers will have to pay the first 13 weeks or so of disability benefit?
Comment on this
The initial proposal was that employers would be responsible on a statutory basis for the first 13 weeks. There is nothing particularly magical about 13 weeks and that is one of the issues that will be examined. Another question is how those payments will be made and how they will be recouped because it is the intention to recoup them.