Removal of COVID Self-Isolation Rules

All COVID-19 self-isolation restrictions were lifted on the 24th of February. Although these rules were removed, you may still wish to impose your own guidelines for when your employees test positive for COVID-19. The government also advises that those who test positive stay home and self-isolate for at least 5 full days- however, this is no longer enforceable by law.

Even though employees can legally attend work with the virus, you do still owe a duty of care to them. This means that you should still have some control measures in place in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 throughout your workplace, especially to those who are at higher risk.

The COVID-19 specific Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) legislation will be removed on the 25th of March, and the SSP laws will return to how they were pre-pandemic. This means that SSP will most likely not be awarded to those who are self-isolating, but not sick with the virus, or otherwise “deemed incapable of work”. However, if they have tested positive for the virus, and are willing to come into work but you choose to not allow them, in order to help manage the spread, you may have to pay them.