Petition · past parliament
Ensure All Staff Working for NHS Contractors Receive Full and Equal Sick Pay
Rejected
13 signatures
What the petition asks
Government should make it a contractual requirement that all companies that are awarded a contract to deliver services for the NHS (including Community Pharmacy and cleaning services) must pay sick pay on the same basis as staff employed directly by the NHS.
Currently those holding contracts from NHS are not obliged to offer their staff similar pay or conditions to those staff directly employed by the NHS. This means that staff who are putting themselves at risk for the benefit of patients (including staff in community pharmacies) are exposed to risk and should they fall ill are then only eligible for SSP of £94.25 per week as the contractors refuse to offer full sick pay. The covid19 pandemic has highlighted this but it is an ongoing issue.
Why it was rejected
It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.
The terms of NHS contracts for services are a matter for individual NHS trusts, and not the Government or Parliament.
You could start a petition calling on the Government to fund increased sick pay for NHS contractors.
We have also published a petition calling on the Government to ensure employees are paid their full wage if they can't work due to coronavirus, which you might like to sign: Ensure employees are paid their full wage if they can't work due to coronavirus
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
You could start a petition calling on the Government to fund increased sick pay for NHS contractors.
We have also published a petition calling on the Government to ensure employees are paid their full wage if they can't work due to coronavirus, which you might like to sign: Ensure employees are paid their full wage if they can't work due to coronavirus
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
Timeline
| 27 Mar 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 12 May 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
13
Status
Rejected
Rejected
12 May 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.