Levels of statutory sick pay

That this House notes that for a test, trace and isolate system to be effective, people must be able to afford to isolate when required to do so; notes that the current level of Statutory Sick Pay is forcing many people to choose between having enough money to live on or self isolating, which undermines efforts to reduce the spread of covid-19; further notes that Statutory Sick Pay in the UK is among the lowest in Europe, estimated by the TUC to equal only one fifth of the average worker’s weekly earnings; recognises that nearly 2 million low-paid workers are entirely excluded from Statutory Sick Pay because they earn less than £120 a week; is concerned by reports that more than half of people applying for the one-off £500 support grant to self-isolate are being rejected in some coronavirus hotspots, leaving many people without even that limited support; and calls on the UK Government to urgently increase Statutory Sick Pay to the level of the Real Living Wage and remove the requirement for recipients to earn over £120 per week so that every worker who needs to self isolate is supported to do so.