MP Rayner plans to make Britain the 'best place to work' as she also reveals her son had to borrow money from her to survive Covid isolation

Ashton and Failsworth MP Angela Rayner has launched a five point plan to make Britain the ‘best place to work’ to combat the spiralling number of people suffering in-work poverty.

The plan also aims to end insecure work in the gig economy and make sure all employees have full rights from day one on the job as the country emerges from the pandemic and lockdown restrictions lift.

Ms Rayner, Labour’s Deputy Leader and Shadow Minister for the Future of Work, called on the Government to boost statutory sick pay, which is currently £96.35 a week, and make it illegal for bosses to dismiss staff when they are advised to self-isolate.

Ms Rayner revealed to a national newspaper yesterday (Sunday) that her son was forced to borrow money from her to survive isolation.

The Mirror reported that her 24-year-old, Ryan, who works in hospitality, was among thousands of people losing out out for doing the right thing when exposed to coronavirus.

Ms Rayner said: "The cost of not doing that is that they spread the virus and more people are off and it costs the economy more in the long run.

"It's an awful feeling trying to raise a family not knowing whether you're going to have a wage next week or not and feeling frightened to ring your employer to say I need to self-isolate.

"Work should pay and it should also provide you with a good standard of living, so it's not just about surviving, it's about thriving.

“We are at a fork in the road, and as we recover from the pandemic, we need to take this opportunity to deliver a new deal for working people.

“Under the Conservatives we have a broken economic model defined by insecure work, low wages and in-work poverty, and a lack of opportunity for people who want to get on and find good work to support themselves and their families.

“Labour’s new deal for working people will fundamentally change our economy to make it work for working people and build a Britain where people in every part of our country can get good quality jobs that are a source of pride, security and dignity and pay a proper wage that people can raise a family on.

“The pandemic highlighted the depth of the divide between those in low-paid, insecure work, and those in secure well-paid jobs.

"They had a buffer that stopped them from having the most adverse affects of the pandemic, whereas those who were in the most precarious work, usually frontline, found that they were more at risk, less likely to be able to self-isolate, less likely to have sick pay, more likely to be low paid.

"You could see the divide really starkly."

According to TUC analysis, two million workers in the UK do not earn enough to qualify for statutory sick pay, while others are on insecure contracts.

Not everybody is eligible for a one-off £500 payment for low-paid workers forced to self-isolate.

In May, the IPPR think tank released, ‘No Longer Managing’, a report which stated that in-work poverty has been rising under successive governments since 2004.

It identified that rates of working poverty hit a new high - of 17% - in working households before the pandemic took hold driven by factors such as rising housing costs, a failing social security system and a lack of affordable childcare.

Labour’s five point plan:

1. Security at work - full rights from day one on the job; outlawing fire and rehire; new right to flexible work

2. Quality jobs - use government contracts to support British businesses; invest in high-quality; well-paid green jobs

3. A fairer economy - level playing field on tax between multinationals and small businesses; tackling discrimination at work

4. Opportunity for all - guarantee of quality education, training or employment for the young; tens of thousands of new apprentices

5. Work that pays - a real living wage of at least £10 per hour; collective bargaining over pay.

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