Labour have demanded Matt Hancock is denied a "disgusting" £16,000 golden goodbye after he resigned in disgrace.
The Health Secretary quit last night after admitting he breached his own Covid rules by snogging aide Gina Coladangelo.
But he will be entitled to a £16,000 golden goodbye despite resigning in disgrace.
Ministers under 65 who leave their office - whether sacked or resigning - are entitled to a quarter of their annual salary under the 1991 Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act.
The salary for a Secretary of State is £67,505 according to latest figures, which would in theory lead to a payout of £16,876 for 42-year-old Mr Hancock.
It is not yet known whether Mr Hancock intends to take and keep the payment.
Ministers’ decisions to take severance pay are only published in annual accounts, so unless he makes a statement the answer may only become clear in summer 2022.
But Shadow Housing Secretary Lucy Powell said Boris Johnson must step in and deprive Mr Hancock of the payment.
She told Sky News: "I think most of your viewers would be appalled to think that there's going to be a severance payment to Matt Hancock in this circumstance.
"Let's not forget, he as the health secretary was the guy who recommended that our NHS workers, after the year they've just had, in the pandemic, on the front line, who have worked flat out, who are now on their knees - he recommended that they have a pay cut.
"I think to find out that he's now going to get thousands of pounds as some kind of severance redundancy payment - for frankly being caught on the job while he was on the job - I think would be pretty disgusting to most people.
"And we will certainly be calling that out and asking the PM not to give him that."
New Health Secretary Sajid Javid said today: “I think Matt Hancock worked incredibly hard, he achieved a lot and I’m sure he will have more to offer in public life.”
But Mr Hancock faces a probe into his alleged use of a private email account for official business as he led the UK’s response to the pandemic.
Government guidelines say Ministers should use only official email accounts in the interest of maintaining transparency, and to ensure there can be proper scrutiny of critical decisions.
The Department of Health did not deny specifically that Mr Hancock had ever conducted parliamentary business over a private email. Instead a spokeswoman said: "All DHSC ministers understand the rules around personal email usage and only conduct government business through their departmental email addresses."
The Health Minister and Peer who sponsored Gina Coladangelo’s Parliamentary Pass also faces an investigation by House of Lords Authorities, the Mirror understands.
The Lords Standards Commissioner has received a complaint about Hancock ally Lord Bethell, and it is undergoing an initial assessment. The Tory Peer sponsored Ms Coladangelo’s Lords pass up to December 2020.
Speaking to reporters outside the Department of Health offices, Mr Javid ignored shouted questions about whether lockdown rules would end as planned on July 19.
But he added: “We are still in a pandemic. I want to see that come to an end as soon as possible.
“And that will be my most immediate priority, to see that we can return to normal as soon and as quickly as possible
“I’ve got a lot of work to do… If you can excuse me, I’d like to get on with it.”
Mr Hancock initially tried to cling to his job and Boris Johnson considered the matter "closed", before he was then allowed to resign of his own accord.
Ms Powell said the incident called the Prime Minister's "judgement and leadership" into question, saying: "The Prime Minister should have sacked him".
She added: "It feels to me like the prime minister has a very dangerous blind spot when it comes to issues of integrity and conduct in public life."
In a letter to the PM last night Mr Hancock wrote: "We have worked so hard as a country to fight the pandemic.
"The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis.
"I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this.
"I also need be with my children at this time."
