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Workers who are unable to use all their annual leave as a result of the coronavirus pandemic will be able to roll it over for two years, business secretary Alok Sharma has announced.

Sharma announced new measures to aid businesses at the government’s daily briefing to the public about the coronavirus crisis.

He said: “We’ve introduced measures to ensure that workers who have not taken all of their statutory annual leave due to COVID-19 will now be able to carry that entitlement over into the next two years.

“This will protect staff from losing out, while providing businesses with flexibility when they need it most.”

The business secretary insisted at the briefing that there are “no gaps in government” despite prime minister Boris Johnson and other key figures entering self isolation over coronavirus.

He said the prime minister was “still leading the response from the front” behind closed doors in Downing Street after testing positive for the virus and had held a video conference call that morning to continue the government’s efforts to combat Covid-19 

Sharma also told the briefing there will be new measures to improve the insolvency system to help businesses affected by coronavirus.

He also said red tape would be reduced to speed up the production of hand sanitiser to bring products to market within days and get protective equipment to staff who need it quicker.

“We are also introducing a range of measures to boost the supply of personal protective equipment, such as face masks, to protect frontline NHS staff.

“And we’re removing administrative barriers to the production of hand sanitiser.

“By reducing the amount of red tape, new suppliers and businesses that produce ingredients for safe hand sanitiser will be able to bring their products to market in a matter of days.”