Welcome to our latest Employment Law Coffee Break in which we look at the latest legal developments impacting UK employers.

Covid-19 update

Recent days have seen a number of developments on Covid-19 measures in light of the Omicron variant, including:

• A change in the self-isolation requirements so that anyone notified by NHS Test & Trace that they are a close contact with a person who has tested positive for coronavirus and that person is suspected of, or confirmed as, having the Omicron variant, will need to self-isolate for ten days even if they are fully vaccinated or under 18 years and 6 months. The relevant guidance has now been updated. It remains an offence for an employer to allow a worker to attend the workplace or to work anywhere other than the place they are self-isolating, if they are aware that the worker is legally required to self-isolate; to do so leaves an employer vulnerable to a fixed penalty notice starting from 1,000 (an individual may also be separately fined).

• While the government has stated that we should not see a return to the problems experienced by businesses in the summer with large numbers of employees self-isolating, employers should prepare for more potential absences where staff are required to self-isolate (or who care for a child who is required to self-isolate) and they are unable to perform their role from home. Businesses may also want to consider whether additional measures should be put in place in the workplace to minimise...

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