Sick Pay Guarantee

Helping casual workers access sick pay

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a critical gap in our social safety net: millions of casual workers lacked access to sick pay, forcing an impossible choice between their health and their income. The Sick Pay Guarantee (SPG) was a groundbreaking initiative designed to solve this problem, and I had the privilege of designing the digital service at its core. This case study details my role in building a first-of-its-kind public service from scratch, highlighting the unique challenges of rapid-fire innovation in a high-stakes environment.

The challenge & the solution

The primary challenge was designing a new digital service for a completely new social program. We needed to translate a complex policy into a simple, user-friendly application that casual workers could use to claim their sick pay. The solution was a secure, end-to-end digital service that guided applicants through eligibility checks and claim submissions, ensuring timely and secure payments leveraging bank-level encryption and secure identity verification protocols. This was more than a digital form; it was a new piece of social infrastructure built to solve a critical problem.

To ensure the service met user needs, we applied a human-centred design approach, starting with a 5-day Design Sprint in September 2021. The original release date of January 2022 dictated an extremely tight timeline, which shaped our initial designs.

Project details

Project: Victorian Sick Pay Guarantee
Role: Design Manager
Timeline: The program was a two-year pilot program that launched on March 8, 2022, and concluded on June 30, 2024. A $245.7 million government investment backed it.
Key Stats: The program provided up to 38 hours of sick and carer’s pay to eligible casual and contract workers in Victoria. The program covered 1.8 million hours of sick pay and received more than 80,000 claims.

Improving the user journey

When the service first launched in March 2022, the application process took an average of 15 minutes to complete, which was a significant barrier to entry. We required applicants to complete a long series of steps in a single sitting, including:

An initial eligibility check based on their occupation.
Account creation or login.
Identity verification using official documents.
Proof of work, such as a payslip or employment contract.
Bank account details for payment.

This lengthy and demanding process, which asked for a considerable amount of personal and sensitive information upfront, was a huge barrier. It meant that many people would abandon the application, resulting in fewer successful applications.

To resolve this difficult problem, I suggested we break up the application process into separate, manageable chunks that could be completed at different times. After passing the initial eligibility check and logging in, applicants were given a series of stand-alone steps: Proof of Identity, Proof of Work, and Add Bank Details.

Process flows: Before-and-after

Original SPG Apply process

The original Apply process was a 6-step journey for users, including an eligibility check, account creation, identity verification, and proof of work. This flow had an average completion time of 15 minutes.

Improved SPG Apply process: 80% faster

The application was overhauled to be faster and easier for applicants. By removing some steps, the average completion time was reduced by 10 minutes, now taking just 5 minutes. This change also supported a program expansion to include a greater number of occupation types and employees in the SPG scheme. A key change was that applicants could now make a claim but needed to provide evidence of who they were, where they worked, and their bank details. A low-risk decision to remove the medium level of assurance (LOA2) could have allowed for duplicate registrations, which were then handled in a different flow.

Original SPG Claim process

This diagram illustrated the original process for making a claim. The flow involved users logging in, selecting ‘Make a claim,’ entering their details, providing proof of absence, and then reviewing the submission before completion.

Improved SPG Claim process: Verify your identity

This improved process separated identity and employment verification into two distinct, 5-minute flows. This allowed applicants to complete each step at their convenience, making the overall claim journey shorter and more user-friendly. Identity and Proof of work had to be completed as separate processes before making a claim. Once the applicant had successfully verified their identity, they could then move to the Proof of work process immediately or return when they had the required documents.

Improved SPG Claim process: Proof of work

This improved process allowed applicants to provide proof of employment as a quick, separate task. By doing so, they could complete this step at their convenience and return to make their first claim whenever they were ready. The applicant could return at their convenience with their documents to provide proof of employment. Once the applicant had successfully proven their employment, they could then make their first Claim for Sick Pay immediately or return when they needed to make a claim.

Improved SPG Claim process: Make a claim first time

This improved process handled the initial claim and securely stored the applicant’s bank details for future use. Once this step was complete, applicants were able to submit all subsequent claims with just a few simple clicks, as they only needed to confirm that their job was still the same as previously claimed against and that their bank account details had not changed. After verifying their identity and providing proof of work, the applicant was able to claim for the first time. Within their first claim, they were asked to provide their bank account details. Subsequent claims did not require the applicant to provide their bank account details, but they needed to confirm that their job was still the same and that their bank account details had not changed.

Outcomes

This crucial user journey update, implemented in July 2022, dramatically improved the user experience. By reducing the friction and allowing people to complete the process at their own pace, the new flow enabled the program to meet its key target of 100,000 sign-ups by September 2022. The positive impact was further validated by exceptionally high customer satisfaction ratings: 97.4% for the application process and 99.2% for the claim process. The original process required a single, lengthy form with a high upfront time commitment and all information was required in one sitting. This often led to applicants abandoning the process. The improved process, however, introduced modular, stand-alone steps that could be completed at the applicant’s pace. This reduced friction and built trust, allowing applicants to save their progress and return later.

Strategic insights & key learnings

Looking back, the pilot proved the power of combining policy innovation with user-centred digital design. Our user research highlighted a significant point of friction: many users were too unwell to sign up on the day they became sick and wanted to claim for recent absences. We advocated for a policy change that would improve both understanding and uptake of the program. Our recommendation was based on direct user feedback, which included statements like:

“It did not let me select the option to include past dates…I was not able to account for the hours I missed in the past.”

“You should be able to claim for absences taken before the date you registered for the Sick Pay Guarantee, especially given that being sick/having to care for others can prevent people from being able to register.”

User feedback also highlighted confusion around eligibility, which informed our recommendation to broaden eligibility to more categories of workers. We also learned that trust is critical, as workers were wary of government forms. Our use of simple language, familiar verification patterns, and transparent steps helped build that trust.

Key responsibilities & impact

As the Design Manager, I was responsible for the end-to-end design of the digital service, from initial user flows to final UI implementation. My role involved close collaboration with policy advisors, stakeholders, and developers to ensure the final product was both user-friendly and compliant with legal requirements.

Policy to product: I was responsible for turning complex government policy into a clear, intuitive digital experience for the public.
Stakeholder management: We engaged with casual retail workers, industry bodies, and community groups to ensure the design met the needs of the target audience and addressed potential pain points.
Strategic design: My work focused on strategic design decisions that would not only solve the immediate problem but also create a reusable foundation for future social programs.
Navigating constant change: The design had to be flexible enough to accommodate real-time changes to the legal and policy framework.

Conclusion

The Sick Pay Guarantee demonstrated that when design, policy, and technology align, government can deliver services that are both impactful and human. If we could improve further, we would add real-time eligibility checks to provide instant clarity, build multilingual support for workers with limited English literacy, and introduce live chat or in-flow support for users stuck mid-application.

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