Covid-19 Guidance

In February 2022, the government released its plan for living with COVID-19. The intention is that: “[this] plan – underpinned by vaccines – will remove the remaining legal domestic restrictions while continuing to protect people most vulnerable to COVID-19 and maintaining resilience”. 

The full plan can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-living-with-covid-19.

The key dates in the plan are covered below:

1. With effect from 24 February 2022, the government lifted all legal restrictions in England in respect of COVID-19.
2. From 17 March 2022, the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Rebate Scheme closed for coronavirus-related absences after 17 March 2022.
3. As of 24 March 2022, SSP is only payable from day four of a period of incapacity, and the normal three ‘waiting days’ for SSP will be applied from 25 March 2022 onwards.

4. From 1 April 2022:

• Free symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 testing for all will end. Instead, testing will be targeted to certain high-risk sections of the population (i.e. hospital patients where a PCR test is required for their care, care home residents and people working in high-risk settings);
• Employers will no longer have to explicitly consider COVID-19 in health and safety risk assessments; and
• The sector specific ‘Working through coronavirus guidelines’ will be replaced with new public health guidance.

Rules on free lateral flow and PCR tests can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-next-steps-for-living-with-covid.

From 1 April, responsibility for managing COVID in the workplace shifts to employers. Even though the legal obligation to self-isolate has ended, employers still have a legal duty to take ‘reasonable steps’ to protect the health and safety of their employees and will have to decide what their approach to self-isolation will be. New guidance has yet to be released but it is expected that this will recommend that individuals who test positive for COVID-19 should stay at home and avoid contact with others.

Whatever approach the employer takes, the risk of contact with COVID-positive colleagues and others is bound to increase.

Clinically vulnerable employees may be particularly anxious, and employers will need to consider how to meet their duty of care towards them, bearing in mind that measures that may be sufficient to reduce the danger for most employees may not be adequate for others. This will continue to involve consideration of individual risks in relation to clinically vulnerable employees and/or those who live with clinically vulnerable people.

Further vaccinations have been recommended for individuals who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 and further guidance will be produced for those whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness, despite vaccination.