THE government’s coronavirus Budget has “major holes” and leaves millions of workers behind, trade unions and Labour warned today.

The £30 billion splurge was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who insisted that the plans would bring “stability and security” amid expected economic disruption.

He said that the government will meet the full cost of statutory sick pay for up to 14 days for workers in firms with up to 250 employees, providing over £2bn for up to two million companies.

Mr Sunak also pledged an extra £6 billion for the NHS.

But shadow chancellor John McDonnell pointed out that the Budget does not extend statutory sick pay to those on zero-hours contracts, nor does it increase sick-pay rates — already among the lowest in Europe.

He said that “nothing” was pledged for people who are “without a contract of employment” and that Mr Sunak failed to promise any new money for the struggling social-care system.

Mr McDonnell said: “Unfortunately the impact of the crisis is likely to be sharper because of a fundamentally weak economy and the crisis in public services created by actions of Conservative governments over the past 10 years.”

GMB union general secretary Tim Roache said that “abysmal” rates of statutory sick pay — equating to about £18 a day — are “nowhere near enough” and challenged ministers to try to live on such a paltry income.

He said that the government had an opportunity in the Budget to permanently “right a wrong” on sick pay, but instead “completely ignored it.”

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The government’s coronavirus plans will leave millions of workers behind. Without urgent action, too many will be plunged into poverty and debt.

“Today’s announcements won’t help the nearly two million people who miss out on sick pay because they don’t earn enough.”

Calls for higher sick-pay rates were echoed by Child Poverty Action Group chief executive Alison Garnham, who said that low-income families need more support both in health and sickness.

She said: “Universal credit continues to cause havoc for millions, so it is disappointing that the Chancellor brought no substantial permanent reforms to the table today.”

Mr Sunak also pledged £500m to the benefits system and a £500m hardship fund to be administered by local authorities.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation welcomed the government’s proposals to raise the national minimum wage to £10.50 by 2024, but said that it must do more to prove that it’s “serious about breaking poverty’s grip on families around the UK.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that it was disappointing that the Budget was “billed as a turning point” for public services but turned out to be a “sleight of hand.”

He said: “Having ruthlessly forced down the living standards and life chances of millions of our people for a decade, the talk of ‘levelling up’ is a cruel joke.

“The reality is that this is a Budget which has an admission of failure — an admission that austerity has been a failed experiment.

“It didn’t solve our economic problems, but made them worse. That held back our own recovery and failed even in its own terms.

“Today’s measures go nowhere near reversing the damage that has been done to our country.”

Ms O’Grady said of the investments: “This spending U-turn is badly overdue. The priority now must be to repair the damage of 10 years of Tory devastation.”