How will the end of Covid-19 self-isolation affect employers?

On 21st February 2022, the government announced its strategy on ‘living with covid’, whereby all remaining Covid-19 restrictions were lifted in England on 24th February 2022 and the law was replaced by guidance.

From 24th February 2022:

• The legal requirement to self-isolate upon a positive Covid-19 test has been removed.
• Guidance remains in place for those who test positive to stay at home and avoid contact with others for at least five full days and return to work after receiving two negative test results on consecutive days.
• The legal requirement for workers to inform their employer that they are required to self-isolate has been removed.
• Self-isolation support payments of £500 for those on low incomes who must self-isolate due to Covid-19 has ended.
• People in contact with someone with Covid-19 no longer must self-isolate or test daily for seven days unless they wish to.

From 24th March 2022:

• The special Covid-19 sick pay provisions will be removed. People with Covid-19 will still be eligible for SSP subject to the normal provisions, but the day-one eligibility for SSP for Covid-19 related absence will no longer apply
• The small employer SSP rebate scheme will end.

From 1st April 2022:

• The provision of free Covid-19 PCR and lateral flow testing will be targeted to certain sections of the population.
• Working safely guidance – the existing guidance will be replaced by new public health guidance.
• Covid-19 passports and certifications are no longer recommended for venues and events but remain necessary to international travel.

How will this affect employers?

Employers need to consider reviewing their health and safety policies to ensure workplaces continue to have appropriate safety measures in place for employees and service users, which might mean re-introducing or implementing new safety measures.

Employers need to review their policies for managing employees that have tested positive for Covid-19. For example, employers might wish to consider implementing a company policy that includes a company isolation period or that re-introduces home working arrangements for a period of isolation. Such policies would need to specify the duration of the isolation period, what pay the employee will receive during the isolation period and how to evidence that hey have Covid-19.

Employers should remain cautious and remember their duty of care to other employees. Given the additional impact on health and safety for the employer and the additional costs to the employee, employers may wish to consider supporting the costs involved with maintaining a safe workplace. For example, employers can consider whether to adjust company sick pay eligibility to cover self-isolation or sickness absence in full. Employers will also need to decide their policy on providing and funding Covid-19 testing for employees.

Consideration also needs to continue with solutions that might already be in place when handling Covid-19 cases ‘with symptoms’ vs ‘without symptoms’, where the employee might consider themselves to be fit to work from home.

It is recommended that employers continue an open dialogue with employees. When deciding what rules and guidance to put into place, employers must be led by principles of what is fair and reasonable.

The CIPD have published new FAQs for employers which can be found here.

Source: Sophia Konnaris