A BRADFORD business has backed calls for statutory sick pay to be increased amid concerns the Test and Trace system will fail to work effectively otherwise.

Those self-isolating will be eligible for the £95 per week sick pay, but there are fears that many workers told to self-isolate will not be able to afford to do so and will effectively be forced to keep working.

NHS Test and Trace - seen as key to easing the coronavirus lockdown restrictions - is being rolled out across England today, and there are concerns that people could be asked to self-isolate for a period of 14 days more than once in the coming weeks.

Unions have called for the statutory amount to be raised and this was has been backed locally by Bradford businessman Ishfaq Farooq, one of the directors of MyLahore chain restaurants.

He told the Telegraph & Argus: "This is a way of coming out of the lockdown, and as a business we are making preparations for when we get the green light to reopen.

"But if workers could be asked to stay at home for two weeks at a time, and more than once, it would be unfair to expect them to do that without enough money to pay their bills.

"I think statutory sick pay should be increased, even if it's just temporarily, otherwise this system could have a massive effect on people and their families."

He added that there were any number of people looking forward to the lockdown easing and getting back to work, but the best chance for the Test and Trace system to work properly, was if people didn't feel like they would be so much worse off on statutory sick pay.

Test and Trace: Here's what you need to know about the NHS programme

His comments come on the back of TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady saying: "We need a testing and tracing programme up and running as soon as possible.

"But it will not be effective if workers are pushed into hardship when they are required to self-isolate.

"Statutory sick pay is just £95 per week - and two million workers aren't even eligible for that. If workers can't afford to self-isolate, then they will be forced to keep working.

"That will put them, their workmates and their local community at risk, and undermine the entire Test and Trace programme.

"The Government must extend statutory sick pay to everyone - no matter what they're paid - and raise it to the level of the real Living Wage, £260 per week."

Statutory sick pay stands at £95.85 per week, and according to the Government website you could get it if you cannot work and are self-isolating.

The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain said: "Once again low-paid workers are being asked to follow public health advice, for the good of all of us, without being provided the means to do so.

"Statutory sick pay, at around £95 per week, simply does not pay enough for survival, even temporarily."

Val Summerscales, of Bradford Chamber of Trade, added that the issue would be of particular significance to some of the Chamber's members, especially those smaller businesses with a small number of employees.

"While many of our members are not currently open, due to coronavirus restrictions, when they do return in the coming weeks, they will also have to cover the cost of paying statutory sick pay upfront before they are reimbursed by the Government at a later date."

This can also have an impact on a businesses' cash flow, she added.

"The grants and furlough available to businesses, we have fully supported. It's something that has given them a fighting chance at coming through this."

The NHS Test and Trace scheme will run alongside calls to keep up social distancing and handwashing, and aims to cut off routes of transmission for coronavirus and prevent a second peak of infection.

It has launched in England with the help of 25,000 contact tracers, while an accompanying app is still delayed by several weeks.

  • Have you experienced problems with NHS Test and Trace? Email felicity.macnamara@telegraphandargus.co.uk