Changes to sick pay provision will affect almost seven million workers who rely on statutory pay as their only form of support when ill, according to unions.
From the end of March workers suffering from coronavirus will have to wait until their fourth day of sickness before they can get financial help through SSP.
A Government spokesperson said: "In the early stages of the pandemic, we needed people to self-isolate while protection was built up through our vaccination programme and we developed a range of new treatments.
