1. If
someone is healthy but has received a written notice to self-isolate from a GP
or NHS 111 are they entitled to sick pay?
Yes, because they are deemed (in
accordance with 2 of the Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations 1982) to be
incapable of work, and so are entitled to statutory or company sick pay in line
with your normal sick pay procedure.
This is assuming they are unable
to continue working remotely. Employees who are healthy but have been
instructed to self-isolate may be able to work from home – if this is an
option, you may wish to discuss this with employees in this situation.
On 4 March 2020 the Prime
Minister announced plans for Statutory Sick Pay to be available from day one
(rather than day four) for employees who self-isolate as a temporary measure to
respond to the outbreak. This change has not yet come into effect but we will
make you aware when it does.
2. If somebody chooses to
self-isolate, and/or is not given formal written notice to do so by a GP or NHS
111, are they entitled to sick pay?
No, they are not entitled to
statutory or company sick pay as they are not incapable (or deemed to be
incapable) of work. You can of course use your discretion to pay sick pay in
this circumstance but there is no obligation, in which case anyone who chooses
to self-isolate will either have to:
- take
unpaid leave; or
- use
their holiday entitlement.
In practice, as this is a preventative measure to reduce the
transmission of the virus, you should consider whether other arrangements can
be put in place to allow the employee to self-isolate whilst still working, for
example home working. If it is possible to put such arrangements in place, the
employee should be paid as normal.
3. If an employee is
self-isolating, can we still require him or her to submit a ‘fit note’?
You may need to be flexible with
an employee in this situation. For example, someone who has been told to
self-isolate for 14 days may well not be able to provide a fit note after 7
days. You should therefore use your discretion when requiring medical evidence.
4. What if we are concerned about someone who has recently
returned from a high risk country such as China or Italy, can we tell them not
to come into work?
You are under a duty to protect
the health and safety of your employees, so if there is an identified risk that
an employee may have been exposed to the virus, you can ask them not to come to
work as a preventative measure for the protection of other employees. You
should also check whether they have followed the current Government and NHS
guidance on self- isolation. If they have returned from one of the countries
listed by the NHS as being at higher risk of Coronavirus, it may well be that
if they contact their GP or NHS111 they will be issued with a written notice
requiring them to self-isolate.
Any instruction not to attend
work should be related to potential exposure to the virus in line with the
current Government and NHS guidance and should apply to all staff regardless of
nationality or ethnicity. Where there are viable alternatives, such as working
from home, these should be explored before any instruction is given to stay
away from work.
If the individual is not unfit to
work, their entitlement to sick pay will be determined by whether or not they
have a written notice requiring them to self- isolate. If the individual
is later diagnosed with Coronavirus or otherwise becomes too unwell to work,
they will be entitled to statutory or company sick pay in the normal way.
5. What if an employee requests
time off to look after someone else who has or may have the Coronavirus?
Employees are entitled to unpaid
time off work to deal with an unexpected situation or emergency involving
someone who depends on them (i.e. child, spouse, parent or other individual in
the same household). This might apply in the context of Coronavirus where an
employee:
- needs
time to make alternative childcare arrangements because a childminder or
nursery is unable to provide childcare or their child’s school has closed;
- needs time to make
arrangements for the care of an elderly parent who has become ill or is
required to self-isolate.
The amount of time off an employee is entitled to take must be reasonable to deal with the emergency in question – usually no more than two or three days. There is no statutory right to paid or unpaid time off to provide ongoing childcare or to look after an elderly parent in the long term so if more time is needed, an employee will have to book holiday or take it as unpaid leave.
6. What
if employees cancel their current holiday plans at short notice if they were
planning to visit an affected country. Do we have to accept this if the rotas
have already been reorganised?
These requests should be granted
if at all possible otherwise employees may feel pressured to risk taking their
holiday as originally planned, leading to a period of self-isolation or a risk
to colleagues on their return to work.
7. What if employees are refusing
to come to work for fear of catching the Coronavirus?
You should listen to any concerns
employees may have and where there are genuine concerns, you should try to
resolve them to protect the health and safety of employees. For example, you
should consider flexible working arrangements such as home working or it may be
possible to allow employees who wish to do so to take holiday or unpaid leave.
If their fear is the risk of infection on public transport, it may be possible
to adjust their hours to enable them to travel outside rush hour.
If you do permit remote working
or holiday, you should reserve the right to require workplace attendance on
short notice in case you find yourself short staffed. You should also make it
clear that disciplinary action could be taken if an employee refuses to attend
work without good reason.
You are not obliged to agree to a request to take time off, whether paid or unpaid, where the request is not in line with Government or NHS guidance. If you refuse a request for time off and an employee still refuses to attend work, you are entitled to take disciplinary action. Before any disciplinary sanction is imposed, the situation should be discussed in full with the individual and account should be taken of any mitigating circumstances. Whilst you may wish to impose a disciplinary warning, bear in mind that it is likely to be unfair to dismiss because of a refusal to attend work arising out of a genuine albeit misguided fear of infection.
8. Can we
require employees to take annual leave if they have requested time off work?
An employer may give notice
ordering a worker to take statutory holiday on specified dates, however, such
notice must be at least twice the length of the period of leave the worker is
being ordered to take. That means if an employee is concerned about
coming into work and you require them to take a week’s holiday, you will have
to give them at least 14 days’ advance notice. As such, this is unlikely
to be a practical option. Obviously if an employee agrees to take holiday at
your request, no notice is needed.
9. What if we decide to close
because of the risk of people catching the virus?
If this becomes necessary, you
should where possible make alternative arrangements so employees can continue
to work, whether that be from home or at another location. You should also
ensure that employees know how to communicate with managers and colleagues.
You should note that where an
employee is willing and able to perform work in accordance with their contract,
you have an obligation to pay wages so employees in this situation will be
entitled to their normal pay unless their contract provides otherwise.
We have considered whether a
contractual right to lay off and/ or short-time working could be used to avoid
having to pay full pay to employees in this situation. The answer is that it
depends. An employee is “laid off” and entitled to a guarantee payment from the
Government if the terms of their employment contract provide that whether or
not they are paid depends on their employer providing them with the work they
are employed to do, and they are not entitled to any pay during the period in
question because their employer does not provide work for them. That
means lay off may be an option for hourly paid employees but may not be
appropriate for salaried employees. Note, this approach is not an option
where there is no right to lay off in the contract of employment.
10. What if an employee or member
of the public who is confirmed to have the virus has recently been in the
workplace?
You will be contacted by the PHE
local Health Protection Team to discuss the case, identify people who have been
in contact with them and advise on any actions or precautions that should be
taken.
The government guidance suggests closure of the workplace is not required unless the PHE local Health Protection Team advise you of this.
11.
What if an employee has had contact with a person who has a confirmed
case of the virus for example, an employee living in the same household as a
confirmed case?
If an employee informs you that
their child/partner has a confirmed case of the virus, urge them to seek
immediate advice from their GP or NHS 111. Those who have had close contact
will be asked to self-isolate at home for 14 days from the last time they had
contact with the confirmed case.
Employees who have not had close
contact with the original confirmed case, i.e. those who have just had contact
with an employee who has had contact with the confirmed case, do not need to
take any precautions and can continue to attend work as normal in accordance
with current Government guidance.
12. What if an employee is refusing
to handle post, packages or food from affected areas
The Government guidance states
that there is no perceived increase in risk when handling post or freight from
specified areas so employees should continue to follow existing risk
assessments and safe systems of work and be asked to review the Government
guidance in this regard for peace of mind.
If employees refuse to do certain tasks without good reason, disciplinary action may be appropriate.
13.
Should we be doing anything to reduce the risks of exposure in the workplace?
Yes, you are under a duty to
protect the health and safety of employees. Such actions could include:
- Sending
round an email/guidance encouraging employees to be extra-vigilant with
washing their hands, using and disposing of tissues etc.;
- If
you have the ability to do so, it may be worth designating an ‘isolation
room’ where an employee who feels ill can go and sit away from the rest of
the company and privately call ‘111’ before taking any further necessary
action.
- Providing
and keeping readily accessible information on what Coronavirus is and the
latest World Health Organization guidance on precautionary measures to be
adopted;
- Making
sure managers know how to spot symptoms of Coronavirus and are clear on
any relevant processes, for example sickness reporting and sick pay, and
procedures in case someone in the workplace develops the virus. However
managers should not single out anyone because of their race or ethnicity
on the assumption that they may have the virus without any symptoms
present;
- making
sure there are clean places to wash hands with hot water and soap and
encouraging everyone to wash their hands regularly;
- providing
hand sanitiser and tissues for staff and encouraging them to use these
items; and
- instructing
cleaners to concentrate on door handles, cistern handles, taps, phones,
keyboard etc
You should keep everyone updated on actions being taken to reduce the risk of exposure in the workplace. It is also a good time to remind employees that they should make sure their contact numbers and emergency contact details are up to date.