Changes to COVID sick pay: What it means for you

Despite record-high cases of COVID-19 sweeping across the UK, the government has pressed ahead with its decision to end the extra support provided to those who are too sick to work with coronavirus.

From March 24, the government ended COVID-19 provisions within the Statutory Sick Pay and Employment and Support Allowance regulations.

The change in regulation is part of the government's 'living with COVID' plan that was announced after the peak of the Omicron wave over winter.

The new rules mean the UK's Statutory Sick Pay will now be the same for people with COVID and those who are unable to work due to other illnesses.

The UK recorded over 98,000 cases of COVID on Thursday, with over 612,000 cases in the past seven days.

The only time cases have been higher was during the winter Omicron wave.

How is sick pay changing?

At the start of the pandemic, the government brought in changes to the Statutory Sick Pay regulations making them payable from day one, instead of day four.

They also brought in a £500 payment for people self-isolating.

The £500 payment faced heavy criticism as not enough for two weeks of missed work.

It was also means-tested payment for people required to isolate and two-thirds of people who applied for the help were rejected.

Both of these measures have now been scrapped.

Watch: COVID-19: The fullest data to date has dropped on coronavirus deaths in England and Wales - here's what it tells us

Read more: The 10 most common symptoms for COVID at the moment

People in England have not been legally required to self isolate if they caught COVID since 24 February.

This means anyone who is too ill to work with COVID will not just get Statutory Sick Pay, unless their company provides other forms of sick cover.

Employees are entitled to £96.35 per week for 28 weeks if they are unable to work due to illness, amounting to a quarter of average earnings.

This is less than a third of the UK Real Living Wage – £346 per week – which is the estimated amount required to meet a person's needs based on the cost of living.

Workers need to earn at least £120 a week to be eligible, which means an estimated two million do not even qualify for the support.

How does UK sick pay compare to other countries?

On top of the government ending the COVID support for people off work, the base Statutory Sick Pay that has now taken over as the main support mechanism is among the lowest in the developed world.

UK sick pay as a proportion of average national earnings in the first four weeks of illness is just 20%.

This is considerably lower than the next developed nation on the list, Ireland, which has sick pay at 37% of earnings.

Read more: Number of people in hospital with COVID in Scotland higher than ever

Austria and Germany provide 100% of lost income.

In 2018, the European Committee of Social Rights described the level as “manifestly inadequate” and “not in conformity” with the European Social Charter.

Stephen Reicher, a member of the Sage subcommittee on behavioural science and professor of psychology at the University of St Andrews, said last month that scrapping the law of self-isolation will create a divide where some people can afford to isolate if they have COVID, and others cannot.

Professor Reicher told Yahoo News UK: "What it means is that if you are poor, there's a pressure for you to go to work.

"Our sick pay is so meagre and if there is no other support, then you will have no choice. You will have to go into work whether you like it or not."