Written by Kate Scott | 28th February 2022
Restrictions may have ended but employers will have to carefully balance covid changes, workplace health and safety risks, and employment law.
From February 24th all remaining Covid-19 restrictions, including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive, have ended.
This leaves employers to consider what rules and policies they want to enforce going forward and how to deal with employees who test positive. If you’re wondering what the end of restrictions means for your business, here are some questions answered.
What is changing with self-isolation rules on February 24th 2022?
Last week the Government announced its plan for “Living with Covid.” As of February 24th, there is no longer a legal requirement for people with Covid to self-isolate. However, if your employees have been in contact with anyone who has the virus, have symptoms or get a positive test result, it is advised they stay at home.
The legal requirement for workers to inform their employer that they are required to self-isolate will also be removed. This may bring uncertainty if your employees decide to come into the workplace when they are Covid-positive.
Between February 24th and end of March, anyone testing positive is being advised to isolate for five days and until they test negative on 2 consecutive days (days 5 and 6 or later) and no longer have a high temperature. But this is not a legal requirement. New advice, not yet written will apply from April 1st.
Can I insist my employees self-isolate if they test positive for Covid-19?
As it is no longer mandatory you cannot force employees to isolate (without risk), but it is best to advice staff with the virus to only return to work after testing negative.
Under The Health and Safety Work Act 1974 you must take reasonable steps to reduce any workplace risks, so this means you can encourage your teams to isolate if they test positive to protect themselves and everyone else at the workplace.
It would also be irresponsible not to have rules in place ensuring workers don’t come to work and spread the virus, particularly if they are working with older or vulnerable colleagues. Not doing so could lead to risk of prosecution from the HSE.
Can my employees claim self-isolation support payments?
The Test and Trace Support payment scheme was set up in 2020 to help low-wage workers afford to self-isolate for up to 14 days. Employees would receive a payment of £500 if they test positive, their child tests positive and they need to care for them or they cannot work from home while self-isolating.
The scheme ended on February 24th, so your employees will no longer be able to claim the payment. However, if they were told to self-isolate before February 24th, they can still make a claim until April 6th.
Can my employees receive sick pay if they choose to self-isolate after February 24th?
Between February 24th and March 24th, your employees are still eligible for Day One statutory sick pay (SSP) if they test positive for Covid-19 and choose to self-isolate.
However, from March 24th the rules are changing. The special provisions are being removed and SSP will go back to how it was pre-Covid. This means they can still receive SSP if they have Covid, but not for the first three days they are ill, only from the fourth day.
The same will happen to the Employment Support Allowance (ESA) which will return from Day One to Day Eight. People will no longer be eligible for this if they are isolating due to Covid.
Will testing still be available for my employees?
As of April 1st free testing will no longer be available to most people. This includes lateral flow and PCR tests.
As an employer you may wish to provide or fund Covid lateral flow tests from a private provider.
Until April 1st you can still carry out regular workplace testing for free, but you can no longer get more than one box of lateral flow tests in a 72 hour period.
If you decide to fund testing, this should be updated in your Workplace Testing Policy. The policy should explain to employees why the business has decided testing is appropriate and what expectations it has of employees both in testing and compliance with other safety measures.
What can I do if my employee is showing symptoms of Covid but refuses to take a test?
In the same way you cannot force anyone to self-isolate, you cannot make one of your employees take a Covid test.
If one or a group of your staff do not want to pay for a test or take a test you have provided, you should consider any reason for refusal. This can be tricky to navigate and will depend on the employee and business and the extent to which the risk of Covid can be managed through other measures, for example, working from home.
Ultimately as an employer you would have to decide if you are prepared to risk disciplining or even dismissing employees who refuse to be tested. We recommend seeking HR support if you find yourself in this situation – get in touch with our team.
Do I still need to carry out Covid-19 risk assessments?
From April 1st the Government will remove the requirement for every employer to include Covid-19 in their health and safety risk assessments. You can still include Covid-19 but you take the responsibility for implementing appropriate mitigations.
The Government’s current ‘Working Safely’ guidance will be replaced with new public health guidance from April 1st.
Can I ask my employees to come back to the workplace now that restrictions have fully ended?
As an employer you still have a duty of care to protect the health and safety of your workforce. So if your employees feel vulnerable about returning to work, particularly as the risk of infection may increase now self-isolation rules have ended, you should consider making reasonable adjustments.
If an employee has a health condition and they have been working from home because of it, you should discuss with them and arrange a plan for their return to work or reach an alternative arrangement, such as hybrid working.
Employees who believe that they are in serious and imminent danger in the workplace can refuse to come to work. Dismissing them for refusing could lead to claims for automatic unfair dismissal.
Therefore, discussion and consultation are important as always; listen to any employees concerns about returning to work and reassure them of your safety measures and explain the business rationale for needing them to return. The aim is to find a solution that works for the business but is balanced with the needs of the employee wherever possible.
Will I need to update my Covid policies?
As we’ve mentioned above, after February 24th you are no longer legally required to conduct a Covid risk assessment. However, you may still wish to enforce Covid-related policies going forward.
Policies could include what to do if an employee has symptoms, what if they refuse a test, who will pay for the test, how long the employee must remain away from work if they are positive, what they will get paid in this time and the implications of not obeying the rules.
Your Work from Home, Hybrid and Flexible working policies will also need to be up to date and fit for purpose. Now we do not need to self-isolate, employees may feel strongly about working from home if there is an increased risk of getting Covid in the workplace.
Whatever policies you adopt for your business, you should make sure that they are effectively communicated to staff. Many disputes and issues that have arisen during the pandemic have been because businesses were unsure of how to react or had not told employees what their approach would be. It’s always worth stating your general approach in some form of written communication, as well as regular virtual or face-to-face briefings.
Keeping people informed of what your business is doing and the latest Government rules and guidance will ensure they feel valued and supported by their employer.
If you have further questions on what this means for your business, please get in touch at info@realityhr.co.uk and one of our team will be happy to help.