The Welsh Conservatives have accused Labour and Mark Drakeford of sneaking through new Covid regulations after it emerged that workers in Wales can now be punished with £60 fines for going to work if they are able to work from home while employers could also be fined up to £10,000 if they repeatedly fail to allow people to work from home.

 Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for the Economy, Paul Davies MS, said: “Labour ministers have snuck these new rules in under the radar without any proper announcement and that in my opinion is no way to govern and creates huge panic for families, workers and businesses.

“It is vital that Mark Drakeford and his cabinet are clear and frank with the public at every step of the way when announcing new restrictions – and not just discretely usher in new regulations and threaten people with fines.

“This Labour administration seems to be getting rather comfortable governing by late night press releases and tinkering with the rules without letting the public know until they’ve already come into force.

“That has to change and that is why the Welsh Conservatives have called for the Senedd to be recalled so politicians can fully scrutinise new rules and restrictions.”

The move has also been condemned by the GMB union, which says that the poorest and most vulnerable workers will be those worst affected by the decision.

The union has raised concerns that bad employers were likely to exploit the rule to protect themselves from fines by placing liability on workers.

There are also further concerns that individuals may be impacted through personal circumstances may be forced from home to work.

Kelly Andrews, GMB senior organiser said: “We think this strikes the wrong chord.

“We have major worries that this could lead to bad employers pressuring their workers to work from home without a paper trail and place any financial risk on them.

“Those workers are also the most vulnerable and can least afford to take the financial hit.

“But the truth is for a lot of families a £60 fine over Christmas will have a severe financial impact”.