Public sector workers are reportedly facing a pay freeze to help the Government pay for its coronavirus pandemic spending, although nurses, doctors and other NHS workers are expected to be exempt

Up to five million public sector workers are reportedly facing a pay freeze as Chancellor Rishi Sunak looks for ways to pay for the pandemic.

Soldiers, police officers, teachers and civil servants are just some of the people set to foot the bill for the Government’s spending.

However, nurses, doctors and other NHS workers are expected to be exempt from the pay cap measure which Mr Sunak will apparently announce next week.

It is believed the chancellor will argue it is not fair for public sector workers to receive a pay rise when private sector employees are losing their jobs or enduring pay cuts, according to reports.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies is said to believe a pay freeze for 3.7 million people would save the Government £3.4 billion, but the number of workers affected could be even higher.

The Times reports almost four million workers could be hit by a freeze, while the Daily Mail reported five million could be affected.

Mr Sunak is expected to announce the need for ‘pay restraint’ in the public sector at his comprehensive spending review next Wednesday.

The Chancellor originally sparked fears of a raid on public sector pay in July when he launched the spending review.

At the time, he warned public sector pay would need to keep “parity” with private sector wages – which were feared to have tumbled in the pandemic.

The Chancellor wrote at the time: “In the interest of fairness we must exercise restraint in future public sector pay awards, ensuring that, across this year and the spending review period, public sector pay levels retain parity with the private sector.”

The threatened pay cuts comes after the Centre for Policy Studies said freezing the wages of 5.5 million public sector employees for the next three years would slash £23billion from the Treasury bill.

Failing to hike salaries would in effect be a real-terms pay cut because wages would not keep pace with inflation, which is currently 0.5%.

Up to £11.7bn could be “saved” if increases were limited to 1 per cent, analysts said.

The CPS – which was set up by Margaret Thatcher and is led by Robert Colvile, who helped write last year’s Conservative election manifesto – claims private sector workers have “suffered far more than those in the public sector”.