Low paid workers told to self-isolate by the government's test and trace operation should be guaranteed two weeks' wages, Andy Burnham has said.
The Greater Manchester Mayor said there were "gaping holes" in the system, which would cause "unacceptable risk" to communities.
And he called for support for 'shielding' people - due to be ended across England tomorrow - to be extended for regions under increased restrictions.
Holding a press conference in the wake of his region being placed under stricter coronavirus restrictions, he called for the government to be clearer in communicating changes.
He said: "We would strongly recommend to the government that at the time a public or media statement is made affecting any area across the country, it must then follow that detailed information is immediately available at the same time as the making of that statement."
He added: "We feel that would have led to a much better handling of the information in this case...that didn't happen here, and I think that has caused some uncertainty and confusion and stress for some of our residents."
Mr Burnham said he was only given a matter of hours' notice before the new restrictions were introduced in a 9pm tweet and statement from Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Thursday night.
The Mayor said there were holes in the government's Test and Trace system - which identifies people who have contracted coronavirus and tries to track down people they have been in contact with.
Mr Burnham called for more data sharing from the national system to local government.
If the national team haven't managed to reach someone who's tested positive for Covid-19 within "a day or so" then their details should be escalated to the local authority.
He said local teams had a much higher success rate in reaching positive cases.
And he called for more financial support for lower paid workers who are ordered to stay at home by contact tracers.
He said: "There are many people in the areas which have recently been subject to these new restrictions - Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, East Lancashire - who are not employed in jobs that support them to self-isolate.
"They know they may not be paid if they do that in a zero-hours job, or indeed they may fear they may lose their job if they self-isolate."
He said even for those who have access to Statutory Sick Pay, it isn't high enough.
"We feel this explains one of the reasons for lower success rate of the national test and trace system in more deprived areas.
"People know they can't say to the person calling them what they want to hear. Or also they're reluctant to give the names of contacts knowing that they won't be in a position either to listen to what's being said."
He called on the government to "urgently" address the issue, reaching an agreement with employers for all employees to get two weeks of full pay if they're asked to self-isolate.
"If we don't fix that hole in the system our test and trace arrangements will not be strong enough going into the winter, and they need to be," he added.
Mr Burnham also called on the government to extend support for 'shielding' people at increased risk from Covid-19 until the local restrictions are eased again.
The shielding point I think is tremendously important. It cannot feel right for someone being at home today who's been shielding for months, to hear that new restrictions are coming in in Greater Manchester and to fear what that might mean - and then to hear that 'oh, your support is about to be withdrawn and you have to go out to the shops to get your own.'
"Clearly the government must be able to see that there is a mismatch in that messaging that will cause real anxiety in people's minds."
In a message to ministers he said: "I'm doing my best to work in partnership with you, but you need to listen as well when we say things that we need.
"And we think we need more support for people in this position - and that the support should be extended for people in this position."
