Hundreds of thousands of people in England and Wales have been ‘pinged’ and told to self-isolate by the NHS Covid-19 app in the last few weeks. Have you been ‘pinged’?
Whether you MUST self-isolate depends on how you are alerted. If you are pinged by NHS Covid-19 app, it is not a legal requirement that you self-isolate, though you are strongly encouraged to do so. However, if you are called and told to self-isolate by the NHS Test and Trace service, you MUST self-isolate and you could be fined if you don’t. If you’re an employee and can’t work from home you could be eligible for statutory sick pay (SSP).
Sick pay for self-isolation
Staff must be paid at least Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if they cannot work because they’re self-isolating for any of the following reasons:
they have tested positive or have coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms
someone in their household has symptoms or has tested positive for COVID-19
they have been advised by their doctor to stay at home before going into hospital for surgery
they have been told to self-isolate by an NHS test and trace service, because they have been in close contact with someone who tested positive
To be eligible for SSP, they must be off work for at least 4 days in a row, including any of their usual non-working days.
They’re entitled to be paid at least SSP for every day they’re off work. This is different to the usual rules for SSP where the first 3 days are unpaid.
Employers can claim for up to a maximum of 2 weeks of Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay for each employee. SSP is currently £96.35 per week. To qualify for SSP employees must have average earnings of £120.00 per week.
