The coronavirus outbreak has raised multiple employment law questions regarding the health & safety of employees in the workplace, flexible working arrangements, managing absences and handling the outbreak in a way that does not give rise to discrimination issues.
We have set out below some steps that employers should consider taking in relation to protecting their staff and visitors from the risk of coronavirus.
Precautions for employers to take:
As the situation changes rapidly, employers should consider sending around guidance encouraging employees to be extra-vigilant with regard to hand hygiene. The current government guidelines suggest that individuals should:
1. always carry tissues with them and use them to catch coughs or sneezes.
2. bin the tissue, and wash hands with soap and water to kill the germs or use a sanitiser gel.
It is good practice for all employers to:
· keep its staff updated on actions being taken to reduce risks of exposure in the workplace
· make sure that the employer holds up to date emergency contact details of all staff
· inform managers on how to spot symptoms of coronavirus and ensure that they are aware of any relevant processes such as sickness absence reporting and sick pay, and procedures to follow if someone in the workplace develops the virus
· make sure there are clean places to wash hands with hot water and soap, and encourage everyone to wash their hands regularly
· provide hand sanitiser and tissues for staff, and encourage them to use them
· consider if any work-related travel planned to affected areas is essential
· consider if protective face masks might help for people working in particularly vulnerable situations
· ensure that frequently touched communal areas, including door handles, kitchens, toilets, showers, and hot-desk keyboards, phones and desks are regularly cleaned
· educate staff without causing panic. For example, send emails or display posters outlining the current situation and any government advice.
It is also important to ensure that no employee is singled out as a result of these precautions. For example, no employee should be treated differently in relation to their race or ethnicity.
Employers should make sure all reasonable steps should be taken to monitor closely any allegations or emerging patterns of harassment, based on someone’s nationality in order to ensure that no direct or indirect race discrimination takes place in connection with the outbreak. You may wish to remind your staff and managers of your diversity and harassment policies.
Absences and sick pay entitlement
Affected employees
If an employee has contracted coronavirus, the employer’s usual sick leave and pay entitlements will apply with the exception that the government has announced that they will be changing the rules for statutory sick pay so that those affected by coronavirus will be paid from the first day of sickness rather than the fourth day
If someone is not sick but cannot work because they’re in self-isolation or quarantine
The UK government has implemented The Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 which contains a declaration from the Secretary of State that the incidence or transmission of coronavirus constitutes “a serious and imminent threat to public health”.
In accordance with these new regulations, any employee who has been medically advised to self-isolate in writing by Public Health England will be legally entitled to statutory (and contractual) sick pay, regardless of whether the affected employee is willing and able to work remotely. Again, employers should note that statutory sick pay paid to those in self-isolation must be paid from the first day of sickness.
Employees do not have a legal right to sick pay if they have chosen to self-isolate out of fear of contracting the virus or alternatively, have not been given a written notice by Public Health England.
There is also no legal entitlement to sick pay for employees who are abroad in an affected area and are not allowed to travel back to the UK. However, it is recommended that employers treat such absences as sick leave and pay sick pay to avoid affected individuals returning to work and spreading the virus.
If an employee needs time off work to look after someone
Employees are entitled to time off work to help dependants in an emergency. In relation to coronavirus, employees may need time off where they have children (or other family members for whom they are carers) who have either contracted the virus, are in isolation or require childcare because of school closures.
Such employees do not have a legal right to sick pay for this time off but may have a contractual right to time off. Alternatively, you may wish to offer pay depending on your workplace policy. It is also useful to consider whether the time off the employee has requested is reasonable for the situation. You might ask that they take a few days off as paid leave and take any additional time needed as holiday.
Employees refusing to attend work
You may find that some employees are reluctant to come in to work because of fears of infection. It is important that employers listen to any genuine concerns their employees might have regarding the risk of coronavirus. If possible, you may wish to address such concerns by allowing employees to work from home.
However, you may not always be able to provide for employees to work remotely depending on your existing IT infrastructure and the responsibilities of the relevant employee. There is no obligation for employers to offer flexible working or holiday to employees and you can make it clear to your staff that disciplinary action could be taken if they unreasonably refuse to attend work. However, you should proceed with caution when dealing with employees who are at high risk. Although there is uncertainty around this, it appears that certain groups of people are more likely to become seriously ill after contracting the virus. These include older people, pregnant women and those with pre-existing conditions such as respiratory conditions or diabetes. For these groups of employees, you may wish to be more flexible.
You may be able to address your employee’s concerns by implementing other measures. For example, some people might be reluctant to come in to the office if they fear the risk of infection from their commute. In such cases, you may want to consider whether it is possible to adjust working hours to allow your employees to travel outside of the rush hour.
There is the risk of employees taking legal action if they are not allowed to work remotely or face disciplinary action as a result of their failure to attend work. As long as employees have acted reasonably and taken measures to protect the health and safety of all their staff any such claims are unlikely to succeed.
If someone becomes unwell at work
If someone in the workplace has recently come back from an area and is showing symptoms of sickness, they should:
· go into a room or an area behind a closed door
· avoid touching anything
· use a separate bathroom
· keep a minimum distance of at least 2 metres from others
· cough and sneeze into a tissue and put it into a bin
In accordance with current UK medical advice, individuals showing symptoms of coronavirus should:
· call NHS 111 for immediate medical advice; or
· call an ambulance if they feel seriously ill.
Final thoughts
The UK risk level is currently set to “moderate” and the UK government has implemented The Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 to reduce the risk of further human-to-human transmission by keeping individuals in isolation where public health professionals believe there is a reasonable risk an individual may have the virus. However, there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 virus and as the number of reported cases rise and experts learn more about the nature of the virus, it is likely that government guidance and recommendations will change.
Employers should continually review latest guidance to keep abreast of the situation. The government is publishing daily updates with the latest statistics and advice concerning the coronavirus here.
The guidance provided is correct as at 4 March 2020 but is subject to change as the situation evolves. For more information about employer’s obligations in relation to coronavirus or specific advice pertaining to your circumstances please contact our Employment Team at emp@teacherstern.com.
