With the risk to the public now raised to “moderate” by the UK’s chief medical officer, its’ more important than ever that employers clearly plan how Coronavirus (COVID-19) will affect their business and their employees.
As the situation is constantly changing the best place for up to date guidance is the ACAS website.
The things to consider now are:
- Do you have a clear plan in place to prevent the spread of the virus in the workplace involving highlighting hygiene, offering homeworking where appropriate or video conferencing rather than face to face meetings?
- Do you have up to date contact details for all staff to allow any plans to be clearly communicated?
Currently the main employment law issues of concern are around pay. We’ve set out below the key points:
- If a member of staff falls ill with the virus the normal rules around sick leave and pay apply. Check the employment contract for their entitlement.
- If they’re given medical advice by a GP or 111 to self-isolate, again the usual arrangements apply as above.
- If they’re not sick and take a decision to self-isolate they are not entitled currently to SSP. However, the guidance from ACAS is to treat such an employee as sick and therefore pay their usual sick pay entitlement or ask them to take the time as holiday.
- Before you refuse to pay SSP, think about the effect of an employee who cannot afford to be off unpaid, then returning to work instead. Clearly this increases the risk of other employees catching the virus.
- Before you do this, think about whether the employee can work effectively from home instead
- If they’re not ill but you tell them not to come in, then they should be paid in full as normal.
- If they need to take time off unexpectedly to look after a dependant who is ill, they are entitled to emergency leave to allow time to arrange alternative care. There’s no right to be paid for this.
- Consistency in how you treat employees is vital to reduce the risk of a claim for discrimination. Ensure employees are aware of any policy around bullying and harassment as it is possible for the employer to be liable for comments made by one employee to another.
If you need any advice regarding the impact of the coronavirus in the workplace then please don’t hesitate to contact us.
CONTACT US
To discuss Employment issues, please either use the contact form on the right, email us at info@ramsdens.co.uk or call us on 01484 821 500 to speak to a member of our team.