Employers COVID policy affects our pay. Is this allowed? (UK)

Hi, so basically in the UK self isolation isn’t a legal requirement anymore. You’re technically allowed to go to work if you test positive for Covid. My workplace has a Covid policy in place that states if you test positive for Covid you must stay home until you test negative or 10 days after your first result, whichever comes first.

The complication lies in the shift working policy. If you work shifts, you only get your shift allowance if you are actually present so naturally you lose your shift allowance if you’re off sick etc. But if someone has Covid and they feel well enough to come into work, the law says that’s fine but the work Covid policy says they’re not allowed on site.

So when I had Covid and had to isolate for 10 days, I lost a third of my shift allowance for the month even though I felt well enough to go in. There’s a lot of Covid cases on site at the moment and the shift workers are losing their shift allowance because they’re being told they’re not allowed on site. I’m also hearing buzz of people knowing they’ve got Covid but coming in anyway because they can’t afford to lose pay.

Does anyone know if this practise is breaching any employment laws? It just seems so wrong. If you’re telling your employee they are not allowed into work due to a work policy that came into effect after they signed their contract, surely you should pay them what they are entitled to?

TIA