'Paltry’ £13 a day is not enough to help workers self-isolate, says TUC
Commenting on today’s (Thursday) announcement that the government is piloting payments of £13 a day to people on low incomes who need to self-isolate, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:
"These paltry payments will not make the difference needed.
“Every worker should have the right to decent sick pay so they can help stop the spread of the virus. Ministers shouldn’t need a trial to know that’s the right thing to do. And sick pay must not become a post code lottery.
"The sooner government gets on with delivering fair sick pay for everyone, the quicker we will beat this pandemic. It should be at least as much as the real Living Wage - £320 a week - so everyone who needs to self-isolate can afford to."
- The current rate of statutory sick pay (SSP) is £96 a week. The TUC is calling for SSP to be increased to the real Living Wage of £320 a week and for it to be available to all workers. Around two million workers currently do not earn enough to qualify for SSP.
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