One of the country’s biggest fashion retailers, Next, is the most recent business to announce this move, which means staff will only be paid the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) minimum of £96.35 (A$182) a week.

However, Covid-positive unvaccinated staff who are unable to work will still be allowed their full sick pay entitlements.

In a statement to the BBC, a spokesman said it was an “emotive topic” but the business had to ‘balance staff and shareholder needs’.

The multinational clothing company employs over 37,000 people in the UK and is sold on ASOS and also has an online site which specifically services Australian customers.

Earlier this week, Swedish furniture giant Ikea also announced they would be slashing sick leave entitlements for the unvaccinated. According to The Guardian this means the average store worker will see their weekly salary slashed from £400 (A$759) before tax to A$182.

Other businesses which have implemented similar policies include online grocery giants, Ocado Group and Wessex Water.

With the UK’s Omicron wave resulting in pandemic-high case figures, infections have created widespread labour shortages.

Under health orders, unvaccinated people who come into contact with a positive case must self-isolate for the 10 days following their date of exposure. However, the isolation period has been shortened for fully-vaccinated people who can exit quarantine if they return a negative rapid test on day six and seven.

In the US, several major businesses have employee penalties for unvaxxed workers. Last week, Citigroup became the first bank to enforce a “no jab, no job” policy for US employees.

While no such punishments have been implemented in Australia, casual staff are not entitled to sick pay. The country is also experiencing the impact of major labour shortages as a result of staff being unable to work due to close contact isolation requirements and quarantine periods for those who have been infected.

This has forced hospitality venues to close and overworked frontline health workers also continue to be lashed by the pandemic.

According the Herald Sun, staff at Victoria’s Northern Hospital must prove they caught Covid while at work in order to access special paid pandemic leave, which applies once their personal leave is exhausted.

“Staff who test positive as a result of a non-workplace ­exposure are required to access personal leave entitlements, as they would with any other illness,” said a spokesman for the facility.

Supply chain constraints as a result of sick staff at distribution centres and in-store have led to empty supermarket shelves and low inventory levels of everyday products like meat, fresh produce, groceries and painkillers. As a result both Coles and Woolworths have introduced nationwide limits on mince, sausages, chicken products and toilet paper “due to signs of excessive buying”.

“This is a precautionary move following recent food and grocery supply chain constraints and pockets of increased demand across select categories,” Woolworths said in a statement.