The current situation with Coronavirus testing in the workplace can be tricky for directors and business owners to manage and know what to do in certain situations.
Our FAQs section aims to help you navigate this new area or workforce management and make sure that you do not fall foul of any rules and regulations.
There is no legal duty to self-isolate if you are not showing any symptoms of Coronavirus, and often test results are available the same day or within a limited timeframe.
If an employee is showing the symptoms of Coronavirus they should self-isolate until the results come back form the test.
However, it may be best practice to encourage employees to remain away from work under either scenario until the results have been returned and verified.
The employee(s) must self-isolate by law and remain away from the workplace. In these circumstances, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) becomes payable immediately from day one of their absence. If you pay Company Sick Pay, then the employees' contractual arrangements must be applied.
For any work colleague that has been in contact with employees requiring to self-isolate, they should be advised and also requested to undertake a test. If they test positive or have any symptoms, they should undertake a period of self-isolation in line with the Government's guidelines.
The Government has announced that it is offering COVID testing to more people without symptoms and many local authorities have drop-in test centres in operation.
If an employer wishes to bring in workplace testing this should be agreed with the employees in advance. The employer can obtain Lateral Flow Test kits for this purpose.
ACAS has lots of additional detail on their website. https://www.acas.org.uk/working-safely-coronavirus/testing-staff-for-coronavirus.
The rule from August 16th 2021 is that this person is not required to self-isolate if they remain without symptoms. They should be encouraged to take a test though, although this is not mandatory.
Most towns now have a COVID testing centre for those people that do not have symptoms, with priority being given to those employees that cannot work from home. There is also the possibility that you could use a Lateral Flow Test to see if the employee tests positive.
A link to book a PCR test is below:
https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test
Any policy or procedure needs to be carefully considered, be fair and consistent and not cause concern or discrimination. You should consider the following areas:
Yes. Your data protection policies and procedures should be updated to reflect any changes you have made due to the Pandemic.
Yes,you must notify Public Health England and the local authority.
This is an area that will be tested in the Employment Tribunals over the coming weeks and months. Professional advice and guidance should be taken in advance of any action being undertaken.
As above, this is an area that will be tested in the Employment Tribunals over the coming weeks and months. Professional advice and guidance should be taken in advance of any action being undertaken.