Disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on certain groups

Black workers have seen some of the UK’s highest coronavirus death rates. The TUC points out that systemic inequalities mean they are overrepresented in lower paid, insecure jobs where the risk of contracting coronavirus is far higher. Black workers have also been singled out for higher risk work, denied access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and appropriate risk assessments. They have also been unfairly selected for redundancy and furlough, and faced hostility from managers for raising concerns.

In December 2020, a Britain Thinks poll for the TUC found that working during the pandemic was having a negative impact on the levels of stress and anxiety of two-fifths of BME workers (38%). It found that BME workers were more likely to have concerns about returning to work than white workers (88% compared with 78%) — and with good reason. While half of white workers (49%) report their employer had done a “Covid-secure” risk assessment for their workplace, as the law requires them to do, this fell to 36% for BME workers.

The December 2020 interim report by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on coronavirus also highlighted higher levels of depression and anxiety among people from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds.