Title

HEALTH

Council set to halve sick pay

Southend Council is planning to halve the amount of sick pay given to staff in a move Unison has described as ‘callous’.

Southend Council is planning to halve the amount of sick pay given to staff in a move Unison has described as ‘callous'.

Employees of the local authority will have sick pay cut from six months' full pay and six months' half pay to three months' full pay and three months' half pay.

Unison Eastern head of local government Alex Porter condemned the plan as ‘callous'.

‘More than a decade of central government underfunding has gutted local councils and they're now searching for savings where there's nothing left to cut,' he said.

‘Council chiefs are looking to their sick staff or vulnerable people living with dementia to pay for their funding shortfalls.'

He added: ‘It's not clear how much the council would save through slashing sick pay — we don't think they've done their sums yet — but it's hard to believe it will make even a slight dent in Southend's deficit.'

Tony Cox, leader of the council, said: ‘It's happening industry wide. Six months' sick pay seems to be out of kilter with a lot of local government terms and conditions.

‘There are supporting networks there for staff if they are off long-term sick and part of the support package is helping them back to work on a case-by-case basis.'

HEALTH

EXCLUSIVE: LGA must show its value to councils, says Reform UK group leader

By Dan Peters | 15 August 2025

Reform UK will review its decision to have a group at the Local Government Association (LGA) after spending time judging the organisation’s worth, the party’...

HEALTH

Why the four-day week works for South Cambridgeshire

By Cllr Bridget Smith | 13 August 2025

Cllr Bridget Smith says South Cambridgeshire’s four-day week improved service delivery, staff wellbeing, recruitment, and retention, while cutting agency cos...

HEALTH

Hitting the strike button

By David Blackman | 16 July 2025

The three main local government unions have all rejected the employers’ pay offer. How strong is the possibility of widespread strike action against a backdr...

HEALTH

Unitary achieves pay harmony six years after reorganisation

By Martin Ford | 15 July 2025

A deal to harmonise legacy pay and terms for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council workers is finally expected to be signed, six years after reor...

Popular articles by William Eichler