Sporting Fixtures Postponed Amid Coronavirus Concerns
By Tina Chander, partner and head of the Employment team at Wright Hassall.
The serious health concerns brought about by the coronavirus outbreak (officially Covid-19) have been well documented, and now, high-profile sporting fixtures have been postponed until further notice, impacting businesses across the world.
On top of this, the Government recently confirmed that sick employees will receive statutory sick pay from the first day off work, not the fourth, to encourage those with a persistent cough or other symptoms to self-isolate and protect others.
Whilst the number of UK cases are relatively low compared to other parts of the world, it’s crucial that employers take steps to protect their employees, ensuring important information is readily available.
Reducing the risk to employees
The sensible course of action for employers to take at this stage is to note the advice given by official bodies and ensure that this is shared throughout the workforce.
Given the action that should be taken if an employee suspects they may have picked up the virus, it would be sensible to designate an available space as an ‘isolation room’, to which sick employees could retire whilst calling 111.
Other steps to take include:
- Ensure that the contact numbers and emergency contact details of all members of staff are up to date
- Ensure that managers are aware of the symptoms of the virus and how to spot them
- Disseminate information across management on issues such as sick leave and sick pay and the procedures to follow if an employee develops symptoms of the virus
- Ensure that facilities for regular and thorough washing of hands are in place, including hot water and soap
- Dispense hand sanitisers and tissues to employees
- Weigh up the pros and cons of supplying protective face masks to employees who may be working in particularly high-risk scenarios
Given the advice around hand-washing and the length of time suggested to do it properly (two happy birthdays), organisations should advise all their employees to wash their hands thoroughly and let them know they will not be penalised for the extra time taken.
What to do if an employee becomes unwell
If an employee exhibits the symptoms of the virus, they should be removed from the proximity of other employees, placed in the designated ‘isolation room’ and encouraged to follow precautions.
The employee when calling NHS 111 should be advised to give the operator the following details:
- Their symptoms
- The name of any country they’ve returned from in the past fortnight
Uncertainty over the seriousness of the virus, the exact nature of the symptoms and concern about the situation regarding issues such as sick pay may lead to some employees coming to work despite having contracted the virus.
If this does happen, then an employer should contact the local Public Health England (PHE) health protection team and they will discuss the details and outline any precautions which should be taken.
The Position on Sick Pay
If an employee is off sick with the virus then the legal situation regarding sick pay is the same as it is with any other illness however the employee is now entitled to statutory sick pay from the first day of work, not the fourth.
The government has stated that if NHS 111 or a doctor advises an employee or worker to self-isolate then they should receive any statutory sick pay due to them or contractual sick pay if this is offered by the employer.
In some cases, employees may be able to work from home while in self-isolation. However, in many cases, if an employee cannot attend their place of work, they will be unable to work.
Currently, there is no bespoke advice for specific industries, but as the impact of Coronavirus spreads, we may see more advice and contingency plans develop to ensure essential and core services continue to operate.
Ultimately, there is no obligation on an employer to allow an employee to stay away from work and, if the non-attendance causes issues or extends beyond an emergency precaution, then an employer is entitled to take disciplinary action.
No time to be divisive
Employers must also take steps to ensure that no members of staff, customers or suppliers are treated differently because of their race or ethnicity.
It may be appropriate to remind staff that jokes and banter, even if light-hearted, may easily slip over the line to become unlawful harassment and/or discrimination, for which an employer may be liable.
Employers can avoid liability if they can show they took ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent employees behaving in such a manner.
Taking reasonable steps can include having well publicised diversity and harassment policies and training all staff on the issue. Managers must also be trained about their responsibility to identify and prevent discriminatory behaviour.
