AN upcoming public inquiry into the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic must take an “unflinching look at Britain’s broken sick pay system,” the TUC has said.

The union body noted that the country entered the health emergency in 2020 with the lowest rate of statutory sick pay among wealthier nations, with millions “unable to access it.”

Workers faced a “financial cliff edge” if they fell ill, with a quarter having to rely on the essential payments, rising to almost a third of the lowest-paid, the TUC said.