UK eases rules on sick pay to help those quarantined by coronavirus

LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday he would cut the number of days workers have to wait before they become eligible for the state minimum sick pay if they are isolating themselves because they may have coronavirus.

"The Health Secretary will bring forward, as part of our emergency coronavirus legislation, measures to allow the payment of statutory sick pay, from the very first day you are sick, instead of four days, under the current rules," Johnson told parliament.

"That's the right way forward. Nobody should be penalised speaker for doing the right thing."

(Reporting by William James, editing by Estelle Shirbon)