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

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

It comes after Trades Union Congress (TUC) analysis found two million workers in the UK do not earn enough to qualify for statutory sick pay, while others are on insecure contracts.

In May, the IPPR think tank released, ‘No Longer Managing’, a report which identified that rates of working poverty hit a new high - of 17 per cent - in working households before the pandemic took hold.

Ms Rayner who is also 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.

She 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.”

Ms Rayner added: “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."

In response a spokesperson from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said:“This government has been absolutely clear that we will do whatever we can to protect and enhance workers’ rights.

“In recent months we have cracked down on companies turning a blind eye to abuses, boosted the minimum wage, protected furloughed workers’ parental pay, brought Jack’s Law into force to support bereaved parents, and invested £2 billion in the Kickstart Scheme for hundreds of thousands of young people aged 16-24 to find jobs.”