Following Government advice, those who can work from home should continue to do so. Those who cannot work from home are being actively encouraged to return to work in England if their workplace is open. Where employers decide that workers should come into their place of work then this will need to be reflected in the risk assessment and mitigating actions taken to manage the risks of transmission. However, the decsions that employers need to make in this area are complex and context specific so we strongly recommend that you seek professional HR or legal advice on the issues that this can present.

Selecting employees

If employers are selecting certain employees to return to the workplace (rather than requiring everyone to do so), employees must be selected fairly. Some employees may volunteer, and employers should keep a record to show that they have done so. Decisions will also have to be based on factors such as availability of transport for individual workers to get to a physical workplace. Employees who have fully recovered from coronavirus may be considered but employers should not use this as selection criteria. There is currently little evidence about the extent to which people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection. It is not known how long immunity (if any) will last and antibody testing is not easily available. In addition, some people who have had the virus will be left with long term health difficulties. Clinically extremely vulnerable and clinically vulnerable workers who are shielding and those with caring responsibilities should be prioritised to remain at home, taking account of the risk of age, sex and disability discrimination and, in particular, the duty to make reasonable adjustments for workers suffering from a qualifying disability. Employers need to consider how to balance the needs of individual employees with showing fairness and consistency across the workforce, to promote inclusion as much as possible. Clinically extremely vulnerable individuals have been strongly advised not to work outside the home during the pandemic peak and only return to work when community infection rates are low. The decisions employers take in this area – both with respect to their overall policy, and in response to individual employee requests or concerns may have legal ramifications on their relationship with their employees. We therefore strongly recommend that you seek legal advice when formulating your policy and responding to requests, to ensure these legal ramifications are considered.

Risk assessments

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Health and safety duties

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Well-being

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Home working

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