Work and wellbeing  

MPs call for better sick pay to boost Britain's workforce

He pointed to research from Zurich, which suggested that the cost to the economy from long-term absences could double to £66.3bn by 2030.

Hamilton, who is also the government's disability and access ambassador for the insurance sector, said: "There’s no one measure that will solve this in isolation. Preventative health at work, and vocational rehabilitation - too often overlooked - will play an important part, but so too will SSP.

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"We should welcome the findings of the DWP's select committee on SSP. It recognises this is too low, and should be increased, they recognise that too many are excluded, and that the net needs to be widened."

Hamilton added: "We should be pleased with the explicit recognition of the importance rehabilitation plays, and how a phased return to work can be important for a successful outcome.

"Improved SSP should also help encourage employers to focus more on creating a healthy workplace."

He also welcomed the acknowledgement of the "positive role that Group Income Protection plays".

One of committee's recommendations stated: "The government should set out in response to this report exactly what it has done, and plans to do, to promote group income protection among smaller businesses, including any proposals to incentivise take-up.

"It should also set out what plans it has to rectify the anomaly of salary sacrifice arrangements being subject to double taxation."

Hamilton added: "That this has come out so clearly is testament to the hard work that bodies such as the ABI and GRID have put in to articulate the rationale and the benefits."

simoney.kyriakou@ft.com