Two million of the UK’s lowest-paid workers could become eligible for sick pay under proposals to support unwell and disabled staff launched by the government on Monday.

The proposed measures include lowering the eligibility threshold for sick pay, as well as offering a rebate to small businesses who help employees return to work.

Under the measures, the eligibility threshold for statutory sick pay will be lowered from the current level of £118 per week, equivalent to 14 hours on the minimum wage.

Small businesses would also be offered a rebate for helping those on sick leave back into work, the Department for Work and Pensions said.

The DWP’s figures reveal that more than 100,000 people leave their jobs following a period of sickness absence, with 44 per cent of employees off work for a year or more leaving employment altogether.

Disability History Month: Barnardo’s unseen 125-year-old photos Show all 8 1 /8 Disability History Month: Barnardo’s unseen 125-year-old photos Disability History Month: Barnardo’s unseen 125-year-old photos William Large was admitted in 1888, aged around seven and a half. His mother had died of tuberculosis the previous year, and his father was sent to the workhouse. According to records, the father’s ‘carelessness and cruelty to the child have caused the hip disease with which the little one is afflicted’. William was also deaf and had tuberculosis. He was trained within the print school at Stepney, and was able to secure employment as a printer in 1899 Barnardo’s Disability History Month: Barnardo’s unseen 125-year-old photos Fred Forty was born in 1875 in Cheltenham, into a ‘wretched home’. His mother died of tuberculosis, and his father, a shoemaker, was described as ‘drunken and totally unconcerned with his six children’. Fred had at least two operations on his cleft palate which were unsuccessful, and had only one eye as a result of an accident. He was admitted in 1888, aged 13. Fred died in 1895 and is buried at Tower Hamlets cemetery Barnardo’s Disability History Month: Barnardo’s unseen 125-year-old photos Kate McLoughlin was born in 1882 in Nottingham, and was admitted to Barnardo’s at the age of seven by the local vicar. Her father had been in prison several times, and was in jail at the time. The family of five lived in one room which the local vicar described as, ‘the most utter squalor and filth’. It was ‘the very worst home’ he knew in his parish. Kate’s mother battled alcoholism, and while she was out drinking, her first child drowned in a bucket of water, and another was seriously burnt. When Kate was just a baby, she fell out of her mother’s arms, and subsequently suffered hip disease and deformity. After care and training in the homes, she went into domestic service in 1905 Barnardo’s Disability History Month: Barnardo’s unseen 125-year-old photos Alfred Smith was born in 1875 in the town of Rugeley, Staffordshire. His father died of diabetes nine years later, leaving seven children. His mother was unable to work due to abscesses on her legs, and was receiving parish relief. Alfred had his right leg amputated when he was just 13. Two years later, he was admitted to the homes, and received an apprenticeship in the Tailors workshop. In 1895, he was working as a tailor in Surrey Barnardo’s Disability History Month: Barnardo’s unseen 125-year-old photos Thomas Marks was born in Rhymney, Caerphilly, in 1885. He was orphaned at a young age when both parents died as a result of heavy drinking. When Thomas was just eight, he ‘had both his legs cut off from the trunk by an engine running over him’. Despite this, he managed to scrape a living on the street as a pickpocket until he was admitted to Barnardo’s at the age of 15. He was given an apprenticeship in the tailoring workshop and subsequently found employment as a tailor on leaving the homes. By 1899 he had his own business in Wales Barnardo’s Disability History Month: Barnardo’s unseen 125-year-old photos Herbert Harris was admitted in March 1892 aged 18. His father died from tuberculosis three months after Herbert was born and his mother remarried a porter who worked at the Millwall Dock Company. Herbert was working at paper mills in Millwall when both his hands were drawn into some machinery. He spent three months in hospital where his arms needed to be amputated – one above, the other below the elbow. His mother received £50 from Herbert’s employer which was used to stock her shop. The admission report says that it appears that none of the money was spent on behalf of the boy, apart from buying a barrow for him on which he might sell fruit. Herbert’s aunt claimed his mother and her husband brutally ill-treated him, that the husband had severely beat both Herbert and his mother. And in his admissions report, was described as, ‘civil-mannered’ and ‘in great fear of his mother and her husband’. Herbert died in August 1896 and is buried in Tower Hamlets cemetery Barnardo’s Disability History Month: Barnardo’s unseen 125-year-old photos Elizabeth Lines was born in 1884 in Deptford, London. Her father died of tuberculosis three years later. A fall during infancy is believed to have caused abscesses on her knee-joint, which made it necessary to amputate her leg when she was just 19 months old. She was admitted aged eight, and received training which helped her secure work as a dressmaker in Port Talbot by 1905 Barnardo’s Disability History Month: Barnardo’s unseen 125-year-old photos Alfred Collings was born in November 1895 in Plymouth and admitted in January 1905 aged nine. His father died from pleurisy and pneumonia in 1901, with his mother receiving £10 insurance money. Soon after the death Alfred suffered a fall which led to the bone in his foot becoming diseased. Unfortunately the problem wasn’t identified or treated for a long time and eventually the parish doctor ordered him to the infirmary, where his foot was amputated. The admission report says: ‘Alfred is of a specially bright, lively and mischievous disposition and has been petted and spoilt by the men in the infirmary. He was perpetually playing pranks’ Barnardo’s

The DWP, along with the Department for Health, have launched a consultation to ask businesses and healthcare providers for their views on how to help employers work with and support sick and disabled staff.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Too many still face challenges returning to work after sick leave. We need to remove the barriers that stop people with disabilities or health conditions from reaching their full potential – these steps will help us achieve that.

“Businesses will also benefit from being able to retain talent, and build workplaces that support the physical and mental health needs of their employees.”

Employers can use simple, low-cost measures such as making flexible adjustments to someone’s working pattern or keeping in touch with people while they are on sick leave.

Some campaigners welcomed action being taken on the issue but said the proposals did not address important issues for disabled people.

Statutory sick pay is currently limited to a maximum of 28 weeks, which can be a barrier to keeping disabled people in work.

Mark Hodgkinson, chief executive at disability equality charity Scope, said: “The Statutory Sick Pay system is out of date, inflexible and poorly enforced, so it’s great news that government is consulting.

“But current flaws in the system with the level and length of SSP provided aren’t included. Disabled people would still face the stark choice between working when unwell or struggling to make ends meet.

“A sick pay system that offers support which is flexible, fair, and right away should be a priority for the next government.”

Government will also look at guidance for employers around modifying working conditions for those on sick leave to help them back into work. The new proposals include a right to request these modifications, similar to the right to request flexible working. The government expects this change to be particularly beneficial for people with mental health conditions who are currently less likely to be granted modifications than those with physical disabilities.

The consultation will also look at how to improve occupational health services and reduce costs for small businesses.

Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said: “I want Britain to be an environment where disabled people and those with health conditions can thrive, not just survive – not only in work but in every area of their lives.