Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Employment Rights and Protections Secretary, commenting on the Government’s admission that Covid-19 has not been categorised as a serious workplace risk, said:

“Given that almost 113,000 people have died from Covid-19, and as many as one in five people are suffering from the effects of ‘long Covid,’ it is beyond belief that the Government does not consider the virus to be a serious risk to working people.

“With workplace health and safety enforcement almost non-existent, and after a decade of cuts that has left agencies under-resourced, the Government must urgently re-categorise Covid-19 as a serious risk and bring in new safety rules and enforcement to protect workers’ lives.”