URGENT action is needed to make workplaces Covid-secure to keep people safe as offices reopen, according to a new report today.

The IPPR think tank has made a list of suggestions to reduce the risks of Covid-19 transmission in workplaces.

They include an increase in statutory sick pay, so that people can self-isolate without fear of financial insecurity, bolstering whistleblower policies so workers feel able to raise concerns about their safety, and requiring businesses with 50 or more employees to publish their Covid risk assessments.

The think tank also called for £1.5 billion to be given to small businesses struggling to make Covid-secure adjustments.

Its research also highlighted that lower-earning workers were twice as likely to be physically injured or become ill at work than higher earners, calling for more funding for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as workplace injury-prevention policy was “piecemeal, disjointed and underfunded.”

The think tank found that between 2009 and 2018 the HSE had a 53 per cent funding cut in real terms, with staff levels falling by a third.

Henry Parkes of the IPPR said: “You often hear people talk about health and safety gone mad, but what we’ve seen over the last 10 years is health and safety gone bad.

“Cuts to the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities will hamper our ability to carry out vital workplace inspections.

“The HSE is at the forefront of the nation’s efforts to make workplaces Covid-secure as the lockdown eases, but it is now operating with far fewer staff than it had in 2008.

“This crisis has shown us just how important having strong health-and-safety enforcement and promotion is for our protection and well-being in the workplace.”