COVID and Monkeypox – where are we now?
July 2022 and the UK is experiencing another huge spike in the number of infections across the country, this is affecting all sectors of businesses as they manage the staff shortages, covid isolation and pay related questions that come with this.
Do I still come into work? Can I work from home? Will I get any sick pay? What happens if I test positive but feel fine?
The fact is that all businesses are different and will have their own guidelines, which will be driven by their Health and Safety Policy and internal risk assessments. A chicken production factory will have a different set of rules to a Design Agency or your local Tesco’s.
The government have ended the laws about self-isolating. This means people don’t legally have to self-isolate, but the government still recommend they self-isolate if they test positive for coronavirus. The Covid SSP day one right was withdrawn on 25th March this year and any claim for SSP has now reverted to eligibility after the 4 ‘waiting days’, however if you are insisting that staff stay away from the workplace and they cannot work from home. Then you as an employer have a dilemma.
What to do if your employee calls and tells you they have tested positive for Covid 19?
Make a plan – so that the staff who can work from home are able to.
Ask if they feel unwell, in many cases people are not showing symptoms – depending on the job that they do they may wish to continue to work and doing so does not present a risk to any other employees or the public.
If they are feeling really unwell and can’t work due to a positive Coronavirus diagnosis, then you can choose to pay them full or part of their normal pay , or just pay the SSP rate (currently £99.35p a week) from day 1 of sickness. Coronavirus – getting benefits if you’re self-isolating – Citizens Advice
If it is your company policy that those staff who have tested positive but have no symptoms, have to stay home for health and safety reasons, then this is termed a ‘medical suspension’ and you will need to pay the employee in full for the necessary time away from work.
If their symptoms seem to be lingering and you are concerned that they may have long-covid, suggest an absence review meeting to have an informal chat about how you can support them back to work. Consider what reasonable adjustments you can make to encourage them to return employment (even if a phased return).
Monkeypox
Monkeypox: what should employers be doing?
Whist this disease is not ‘another covid’ and the symptoms are mild, consideration needs to be taken to stop the spread of Moneypox through the workplace
What should you do if your employee calls and tell you they have tested positive with Monkeypox (or been in close contact with someone who has it)?
The UK Health Security Agency (HCA) are advising an isolation period of 21 days for a person who has tested positive for Monkeypox. In a similar way to the current Covid isolation position, employers will have to decide whether they will require close contacts with a confirmed case to not come to work for the 21 days or whether they will still require them to come in. The additional pressure here is that 21 days is a long isolation/recovery period and serious thought needs to be given to if and how employers can still get employees to work during this period. If they cannot, due to inability to work effectively from home – then what plan does the company have?
The principles are similar to those who have a positive Covid 19 diagnosis. If an employer requests someone to stay away from the workplace, then failing to provide full pay could lead to claims of unlawful deduction from wages.
Covid 19 Employment Tribunal decisions
Covid 19 related Employment tribunal cases have started to trickle out, with interesting and varied decisions and pay awards being made.
Employers should still consider reasonable adjustments on a case-by-case basis to avoid ‘inadvertent discrimination’. Long Covid should be considered in cases of prolonged sickness absence and professional diagnoses sought to negate risk to employers. Some surveys suggest that there may be as many as 1.2 million people off work due to long covid at any time.
Mr T Burke v Turning Point Scotland: 4112457/2021 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Mr Burke was unfairly dismissed and had been subjected to age and disability discrimination said the judge presiding over the case, following his dismissal after 9 months on sick leave with long Covid. See the full details in the link above.
In another recent case Mr D Rodgers v Leeds Laser Cutting Ltd: [2022] EAT 69 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) the tribunal judge decided that Mr Rodgers was fairly dismissed after refusing to come into work just after the start of the pandemic. His employer had made every reasonable adjustment and had taken steps to avert the danger of Covid infection in its workplace. See full details in the link above.
The outcome shows tribunals will be ‘pragmatic’ when employers can demonstrate that they had introduced sufficient measures to avoid Covid-related risks.
Contact us for advice on managing these tricky absences
