UNION organisation the TUC called on the government today to extend statutory sick pay (SSP) to two million low-paid workers, warning that not doing so would endanger public health.

A poll shows that 85 per cent of the public agrees that statutory sick pay must be increased to a level at which workers in quarantine can survive financially.

According to the TUC, unless the government increases sick pay, workers are likely to ignore quarantine guidelines and go to work in order to pay for food, rent and mortgages — risking the spread of the virus.