The End of COVID Restrictions
Alan Kitto
With the end of COVID restrictions coming to an end, in England at least, on Thursday of this week, there are a couple of things that we feel employers need to know.
The first, and this applies to the whole of the UK, the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme, which employers have used to reclaim statutory sick pay for employee COVID absences ends on 17th March 2022, with the latest date for claims being 24th March 2022.
This means that employers will now bear the full cost of statutory sick pay, payable from day four of any absence irrespective of the nature of illness or injury that prevents the employee from working.
With the need to self-isolate being removed in England (and likely soon after in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), some employers are thinking about setting their own isolation rules; several companies that we have spoken to in the last few days are looking at asking employees with COVID symptoms, or who have tested positive for COVID to remain at home for five days.
If you’re thinking about implementing a policy like this, please bear in mind that where an employer requires an employee to remain at home (where they can’t work from home), the employee is entitled to be paid their normal salary and not statutory sick pay, or Company sick pay. Employees are entitled to be paid where they are ‘ready, willing and able’ to work and unless their illness is such that they aren’t physically able to work, then they could ask for full payment if asked to stay at home for a period.
For more information on this or any other HR matter, please get in touch.