Follow up

Guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection

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Can you send employees home from work to self-isolate?

Stay at home guidance

Public Health England guidance (see Follow up ) says that if anyone experiences: a new continuous cough, a high temperature, or a loss of or change in their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia), however mild, they must stay at home for at least seven days from when their symptoms started (or until they test negative for coronavirus, if earlier). Other household members must stay at home for 14 days, even if they remain well, subject to the negative test result above (and for at least seven days if they then start displaying symptoms). So, if an employee has any of these symptoms, they should be sent home, advised to follow this guidance and to immediately arrange to have a test - they can do this online or by phoning 119.

Pro advice 1. If the employee’s role allows for remote working, they can still work from home during self-isolation, assuming they remain well enough to do so. They would then continue to be entitled to their normal full rate of pay.

Pro advice 2. There’s no general implied right requiring you to provide work to an employee as long as you continue to pay their wages. Provided you have reasonable and non-discriminatory grounds for coronavirus concern, and you deal with the matter sensitively and proportionately, there shouldn’t be an issue.

Suspended or sick?

An employee’s right to pay where you’ve sent them home, and they can’t work from home, depends on the circumstances of your decision. If you’ve sent them home in circumstances where they fall within the category of individuals who’ve been advised in public health guidance to self-isolate, you can treat them as being on sick leave rather than suspended on full pay. They will then fall within the new statutory sick pay (SSP) deemed incapacity rules in reg 2(1)(c) Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations 1982 (as amended) (SSPGR) and so will be entitled to SSP (but subject to any contractual sick pay policy which may entitle them to a higher rate of sick pay). However, if your decision to send the employee home doesn’t fall within the government’s self-isolation guidance, e.g. you’re simply worried about a possible risk they might be infected or they’re displaying symptoms other than the three above, it’s likely they will have the right to continue to receive full pay during this suspension on the basis of your implied duty to pay wages, provided they’re otherwise ready, willing and able to perform work for you. They won’t be entitled to SSP because they’re not unfit to work and they don’t fall within the SSP coronavirus deemed incapacity rules as set out in the SSPGR .

Working from home

The SSP deemed incapacity rules only apply where, by reason of their self-isolation to prevent coronavirus infection, the employee is “unable to work” . If they’re well enough to work from home and have the appropriate facilities to do so but refuse, they won’t be entitled to SSP.

Pro advice 1. Check whether you have the contractual right to impose homeworking. If you don’t, and the employee hasn’t already agreed to work from home during the pandemic, you probably can’t force the point. However, given the alternative may be nil pay or using their paid annual leave days, most employees are likely to agree to homeworking.

Pro advice 2. If the employee’s symptoms worsen so that they’re no longer able to work even from home, they will be entitled to SSP.

Guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection