Sick pay rules tightened

A measure to protect workers' rights to statutory sick and maternity pay, by tackling employers who fail to meet their obligations, has cleared the House of Commons.

Paymaster General Dawn Primarolo described provisions in the National Insurance Contributions and Payments Bill as "sensible and useful". The Bill gained an unopposed third reading and goes to the Lords.

Ms Primarolo said: "[The Bill] helps protect employees' rights to statutory sick and maternity pay by improving measures of tackling employers - the very few number of employers - who fail to meet their obligations."

Currently, failure to comply with obligations of statutory sick pay and maternity pay schemes is dealt with as a series of minor criminal offences but this is out of step with the Inland Revenue's practice of imposing civil penalties for compliance failures.

Mark Prisk, for Tories, said his party would support the Bill.

But he criticised the Government for a five year delay in introducing some of the reforms.

Norman Lamb, for Liberal Democrats, described it as "an uncontroversial and technical Bill" which was backed by his party.

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