Coronavirus Advice and Guidance for Employers

This is going to be an unsettling time for any business, let alone small businesses, and I recognise that every business owner will be facing different issues every day. I have therefore put this blog together to hopefully be able to tackle and reassure you on some of the current concerns and questions you may have on Coronavirus and how to manage it at work.

As you will be aware, this situation is quickly evolving and therefore new advice and guidance (and even new legislation), is coming in daily. There are a number of risks that employers will need to be aware of with regards to this virus and it is really important to remember that as employers, you have a duty of care on your employees. You therefore need to make some considerations for the health and safety of your workforce and what this means for your business.

Every business will be different, whether you work in retail, hospitality, construction or within an office environment. No case will be the same and that’s why it’s so important to get sound advice before you take any steps that could drastically affect your staff.

You may want to get certain things in place such as Homeworking Policies and a Business Continuity Procedure – these documents, along with others are available from myself so please just get in touch and let me know what it is you are looking for.

Self-Isolation

Government and medical advice currently is that anyone who is showing mild symptoms of the flu should self-isolate for a period of 7 days after the symptoms started to show. Anyone who lives in the same household as someone who displays these symptoms should self-isolate for a period of 14 days. If they start to show symptoms during this time, they should self-isolate for a period of 7 days, even if this is longer than the advised 14 days.

The symptoms as outlined on the NHS 111 website are as follows:

• A new continuous cough and/or

• A high temperature  

Anyone off as a result of the above is entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP), subject to qualifying conditions. It was confirmed on 4th March 2020 that this would start from day one, not day four, for anyone who has the virus, or who is in the “vulnerable category” (currently now those over the age of 70, pregnant women and those under the age of 70 but with underlying medical conditions).

For more information on statutory sick pay, including qualifying conditions, please either refer to the Direct Gov website link below or get in touch with myself.

https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay

People do not need to call NHS 111 to go into self-isolation, unless their symptoms worsen after seven days.

Managing the Risk in the Workplace

Boris Johnson has recently explained that it is ‘likely’ the virus will spread in the coming weeks and that ‘everyone is susceptible’ of catching it. It is therefore possible that up to one fifth of employees will be off work during peak weeks.

It is therefore important to ensure you do the following things in the workplace, and make sure to the best of your ability that these are happening;

-       office and working environments should be cleaned daily with products suitable for killing viruses

-       tissues and antibacterial gel should be made available for all staff

-       when coughing and sneezing cover mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue – throw tissue away immediately and wash hands

-       staff should be washing their hands regularly (more so if you are a business within the Hospitality/Social Care/Hospital/Teaching industries)

-       reduce the need to shake hands and try some different way of saying “hello” – maybe an elbow pump as opposed to a fist pump!

-       Start to trial homeworking for some staff if you don’t already have this in place – ensure a business continuity plan is in place to also support this

-       Ensure that every member of staffs contact details and emergency contact details are up to date (this is a great excuse to request updates to everyone’s details)

-       Establish if an employee needs to travel, whether this is necessary or if it can be done some other way i.e. virtual meeting

You may see a significant number of individuals now needing to self-isolate and it is highly advisable that you prepare for this. Some employees may feel well enough to continue working despite showing these symptoms; for example, a cough does not necessarily mean that they have the coronavirus. Therefore, you may wish to consider asking the individuals to work from home if possible on a short-term arrangement until the seven-day period has passed, if they feel well enough to do so.

It is important for you to consider extra precautions for staff who might be in that more vulnerable category (aged 70 or over, pregnant woman or underlying health conditions). This may mean sending them home to work, or if that is not possible then to think of another practical means to avoid putting them in harms way of potential infection.

Social Distancing

Government advice from this week (w/c 16th March), is for everyone to try and stop unnecessary contact with other people – ‘social distancing. This includes;

-       working from home where possible

-       avoiding busy commuting times on public transport

-       avoiding gatherings of people, whether at home, work or in public

You as an employer should therefore support you staff to take these steps. This might include:

·       agreeing to more flexible ways of working, for example changing start and finish times to avoid busier commuting times

·       allowing staff to work from home wherever possible

·       cancelling face-to-face events and meetings and rearranging to remote calling where possible, for example using video or conference calling technology

If an Employee does not want to attend Work

Some people might feel they do not want to go to work if they're afraid of catching coronavirus. This could particularly be the case for those who are at higher risk. You will need to listen to any concerns staff may have and should take steps to protect everyone.

If an employee still does not want to go in, they may be able to arrange with you to take the time off as holiday or unpaid leave. You don’t however need to agree to this.

If an employee refuses to attend work without a valid reason, it could result in disciplinary action.

Closing the Workplace

This is probably a concern that a lot of small and medium sized businesses will face over the coming weeks and it’s important to have a plan in place to support this. Even if this could be a temporary closure, you need to have a firm plan in place. It is really important here to make sure you have a good method of communication between you and your staff and ensure they are kept up to date at every opportunity.

·      Lay-offs and short-time working

In some situations, you might need to close down the business for a short time, or ask staff to reduce their contracted hours. If you think you'll need to do this, it's important to talk with staff as early as possible and throughout the closure.

Dependant on what is in their contracts, will lead to how they are paid during this time.

Employees who are laid off and are not entitled to their usual pay might be entitled to a 'statutory guarantee payment' of up to £29 a day from the business. This is only available when specific clauses are in the contract and have been made explicit.

This is limited to a maximum of 5 days in any period of 3 months. On days when a guarantee payment is not payable, employees might be able to claim Jobseekers Allowance from Jobcentre Plus.

 For further information please send a message using the “Get in Touch” button on the website.