Vicky Foxcroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2016-10-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to sick pay and state benefits for women who suffer from severe endometriosis.

Penny Mordaunt

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) provides a measure of earnings replacement for employees unable to work because of short-term sickness if they satisfy the qualifying conditions, which are not related to specific medical conditions.

Those who are not entitled to SSP or are still unwell at the end of the maximum payment period (28 weeks) may, provided they satisfy the conditions of entitlement, be entitled to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

As two people with the same condition can be affected in different ways, there is no condition-based entitlement to ESA. The Work Capability Assessment recognises that conditions can vary in their severity and therefore people with the same condition could be placed in the Work Related Activity Group, the Support Group or found fit for work.