Employers in England face fines of up to £10,000 if they fail to prevent workers who should be self-isolating from going to the workplace.

On 28 September The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020, was enacted, imposing a legal obligation on employers to ensure staff they know have tested positive for Covid-19, or have been in close contact with somebody who has, do not attend the workplace.

Failure to comply with the law without a reasonable excuse is a criminal offence and companies and workers could face a fine of £1,000 for their first offence, rising to £10,000 for repeated infringements.

Workers are now also required to inform their employer if they have to self-isolate (regardless of if they work from home), and face a £50 fine if they fail to tell their employer about this.

This would mean employees would be required to go home – and tell their employer why – if they received a call from a contact tracer or a test result text message while at work. The only form of notification which is specifically excluded is one from the NHS Covid-19 app.

Those who have been told to self-isolate from Monday (28 September) and whom are unable to work from home and have lost income as a result, may be eligible for a £500 Test and Trace Support payment once the scheme is set up in their local authority – expected by 12 October.

Home secretary Priti Patel said: “These new measures are about saving lives. Everyone must take personal responsibility and self-isolate if they test positive or if told to do so by NHS Test and Trace.”

Although this is not an issue if the worker can work from home whilst self-isolating, it will be problematic for employers with workers who cannot work remotely in that they will be dependent on their workers informing them if they need to self-isolate.

ACTION:

Employers should be increasingly proactive so as to make clear to staff that even if they work from home, they must inform the company as soon as they are required to self-isolate (together with relevant dates) in line with the new regulations and that failure to do so will not only be an offence in law, but subject to tough disciplinary action (possibly dismissal).

Further you may wish to ensure you have a whistleblowing policy in place as in practice it is likely that if the regulators become aware of the legal breach, it will likely come from colleagues blowing the whistle on fellow workers who come into work whilst having to self-isolate or who have not told their employer that they should be self isolating.

 

 

 

Hannah Powell