Unions have condemned the decision to end the entitlement to statutory sick pay from day one for people with Covid-19.

Under the Government’s plan for living with the disease, the extra support for workers who contract the virus will stop on March 24.

Boris Johnson told the Commons that it followed the decision to end the legal requirement to self isolate for those who test positive.

Instead people will have to wait until day four before they can claim statutory sick pay – payable by employers at a rate of £96.35-a-week – as was the case before the pandemic.

Entitlement to the Employment and Support Allowance on the basis that people are self-isolating will also come to an end.

People with Covid may still be eligible for the allowance on the basis they have a health condition or disability that affects their ability to work under the pre-pandemic rules.

TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, warned that decision will lead to people taking the infection into the workplace because they cannot afford to take time off.

“The Government is creating needless hardship and taking a sledgehammer to public health,” she said.

“The failure to provide decent sick pay to all, from the first day of illness, is reckless and self-defeating.

“If people can’t afford to stay home when they’re sick, they will take their infections into work.

“Ministers’ inability to grasp this fact will leave the UK vulnerable to future variants and pandemics.”

CBI chief policy director, Matthew Fell, said ministers needed to set out further guidance for employers to clarify the legal position.

“The Government now needs to add further guidance on issues like sick pay and employer liability to avoid the risk of a legal vacuum,” he said.

“Many firms will continue to be cautious and use extra measures to protect their staff and customers, as they have from the outset.”