Two years after the first pandemic lockdowns, the UK is experiencing another wave of Covid-19 infections with two Omicron subvariants sweeping through the population. Levels of infection have been rising sharply since the turn of the year, with the Office for National Statistics report that the prevalence has risen from around 2% of the UK population on 1 January to above 6% by the end of March.

While the vaccines are protecting most people from the worst impacts of the virus, the removal of Covid-19 restrictions across England means higher numbers of people are returning to the workplace whilst the numbers of people testing positive across the UK have been increasing. With the Omicron variant having a reinfection rate 10 times higher than Delta, there are concerns that the UK is likely to see further waves as new variants continue to emerge. Yet fewer people may be able to stay home from work if they or someone in their care gets Covid-19.

Against this backdrop, we still lack protections that would allow workers to take time off from work without facing a significant loss of income. During the pandemic, there were three main forms of sick pay that workers may have been eligible for:

• Pay for employees who are unwell or required to self-isolate (paid by employers) called Statutory Sick Pay (SSP);
• Government's test and trace payments which paid workers on low incomes who were self-isolating;
• Support for parents and carers who are unable to work due to caring responsibilities (often parental/caring leave, but also in many cases furlough).

But some of these protections, like furlough and test and trace payments, have ended, leaving workers at risk of income loss as we move into further Covid-19 waves.

For the workers with health conditions who were considered ‘clinically vulnerable’, the Government’s guidance has changed, and they’re now instructed to behave in the same way as the general vaccinated population. It’s up to individual employers to decide whether clinically vulnerable people can work from home, which means that with the removal of restrictions, some workers may face difficult choices between being able to work and staying safe.

Parents and carers may also find themselves in difficult situations. Children under 5 are still unable to receive the vaccines and, with schools sending Covid-19 infected children home, this means carers need to be available to care for them. In addition, free testing in England ended in March 2022 and is due to be ending in the devolved nations in the coming months, and this will make it harder for families and carers to prevent the virus from spreading in their households. This is likely lead to more workers needing to stay home.

Given that women have been shown to provide the majority of childcare during the pandemic, there are particularly concerning implications for women’s careers if access to adequate paid sick leave is not available to everyone.

Even though experts suggest that most people may experience further waves as a bad cold, there is also an ongoing risk of Long Covid, for which we still lack vital information. In January there were already 1.5 million people in the UK reporting experiences of Long Covid.

Whether there are restrictions in place or not, it’s important that people are able to stay at home to fully recover from illness, and in the case of Covid-19 or other transmissible conditions, to avoid spreading the infection further. And we must have support systems in place that enable people to do this without loss of jobs or income.

Mitigating the effects of these challenges on the labour market and economy

It’s important that the safety net and system of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) are able to adequately support people. Current SSP rates are low with some workers, especially those in part-time roles, unlikely to qualify, and SSP is only available from the fourth consecutive day of sick leave.

At £96.35 a week (£99.35 from 6 April 2022) the current rate of SSP represents just 15% of average earnings in the UK, which is very low compared to the more than 60% average in other OECD countries.

There is also inequality of access to SSP. TUC research has found that 35% of workers earning less than £15,000 a year receive full pay while sick, compared to 87% among those who earn £50,000 a year. The same analysis found that two million workers are ineligible for SSP as they fall under the earnings threshold.

Sick pay reform needs to focus on supporting people in every role and sector of the economy - whether carers or not – to be able to be off sick if needed. We also need more robust family leave available as needed. Currently, there is too much discretion for employers to decide whether leave requests should be granted and stronger guidelines are necessary.

Our experience during the Covid-19 pandemic has shown us an enhanced form of SSP needs to be part of a set of worker protections that provide security to employees. This need is even more of an imperative on account of the cost of living crisis. All workers, regardless of their salary or hours, deserve a reasonable baseline of pay should they need to take time out of work on a temporary basis, due to illness.

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