Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason healthcare staff and nurses who are subcontracted to the NHS are not entitled to the same employment protections during periods of covid and long covid infection as staff employed by the NHS and under the agenda for change system.

Subcontracted healthcare workers and nurses are not employed by the National Health Service and are therefore subject to their employer’s terms, conditions and entitlements, including sick pay. The Government has made it clear that agencies are required to pay Statutory Sick Pay to their workers where they cannot work due to COVID-19.