Updated to reflect employers` legal obligations regarding self-isolating employees. If you don`t have symptoms, the people you live with don`t have to self-isolate. They should still take extra precautions to follow advice on how to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19. The legal requirement to self-isolate does not apply if you have received a notification from the NHS COVID-19 app, but you will always be encouraged to do so. If you need to provide your employer with proof of a positive test result or that you have been in close contact with a positive case and need to self-isolate, you can ask the NHS for an isolation note. Learn more about workers` rights if you need to self-isolate or can`t get to work due to COVID-19. While many are clearly unsure about ping rules, a YouGov study earlier this week found that many users disable or delete the app altogether, presumably to avoid “ping” and subsequent self-isolation. How widespread is social stigma? Self-isolation means you have to stay home. Do not go to work, school or public places and do not use public transport or taxis. Members of your household may also need to self-isolate. The Guide for Households Potentially Infected with COVID-19 page provides more information on self-isolation. If a worker tests positive for self-reported LFD, they must report the result, self-isolate and follow instructions to stay home. You don`t need to take a PCR follow-up test.
About a third of people (37%) also think you`re required by law to self-isolate if someone you`ve recently seen in person tells you they`ve tested positive, which is false. Employees with COVID symptoms should go home immediately, take a PCR test and self-isolate while awaiting test results. The “symptoms” of coronavirus are referred to by the NHS as (1) a new continuous cough; (2) high temperature; or (3) loss of taste or smell. You must inform your employer if you need to self-isolate. If you are an agency employee, let your agency know. It`s worth letting them know in writing so you can prove it later. What if NHS Test and Trace or the NHS COVID-19 app tells you to stay home (self-isolation) because you have been in contact with someone with coronavirus (COVID-19)? If you test positive for coronavirus and enter your LFT result online (gov.uk), you will receive an SMS with an 8-digit letter and a numerical code that you can enter into the app, and you can give your consent to inform everyone anonymously that you have been in close contact when you may have been contagious. This helps reduce the spread of COVID-19. Employers must provide the 8-digit NHS Test and Trace account ID (sometimes called a CTAS number) of the person who tested positive, as well as the names of employees identified as close contacts. This should include any employee who has been in close contact with the worker who has tested positive, regardless of vaccination status, age or other factors that could exempt them from self-isolation.
If one of your employees is informed that they are required by law to self-isolate through the NHS Test and Trace and that they should work in a location other than their place of self-isolation, they are required by law to notify you as soon as possible before starting their next job. Otherwise, the employee may be fined £50. While at least half of all age groups would think worse of those who ignore a self-isolation warning, this negative feeling towards those who ignore a ping rises to 70% among people 65 and older. Overall, my advice to employers would be to allow employees to have the app if they want to (unless your risk assessment says it should be mandatory to have it) and encourage them to self-isolate if interviewed. If you are identified as a contact of someone outside your household who has tested positive, you must self-isolate for up to 10 full days after contact with the person who tested positive for COVID-19. That is, if your last contact with them took place at any time on the 15th of the month, your isolation period will end at 11:59 p.m. on the 25th. The scheme is also open to parents and guardians who have not been asked to self-isolate but need to take time off work to care for a child who is self-isolating through NHS Test and Trace. If you were fully vaccinated by the time you were in close contact with a positive case, you do not need to self-isolate, but you should follow the instructions above for daily testing.
This will ensure that all contacts in the workplace are registered with the NHS Test and Trace and can be informed that they are in close contact and receive the necessary public health advice – including the test they need to take and whether they need to self-isolate. It also helps those who need to self-isolate access support. This NHS guide explains how long a person needs to self-isolate. If you are informed that you have been identified by NHS Test and Trace as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, you should follow the guidelines for people living with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and the guidelines for non-household contacts. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you must self-isolate while waiting for your test result. If your PCR test is negative, you do not need to self-isolate. This does not guarantee that you are not sick with COVID-19, so you should follow the advice on how to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19. Read more instructions on what to do if your test is negative. If you have participated or are currently participating in a COVID-19 (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) approved COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial, or if you can prove that you cannot be vaccinated against COVID-19 for medical reasons, you do not need to self-isolate, but you must follow the daily testing instructions above.
You should stay home and have no visitors (self-isolation) until you receive your test result. Employees who work in these workplaces may choose to participate in daily contact testing instead of self-isolating if they are not vaccinated and have been identified as being in close contact with someone outside their household who has tested positive for COVID-19. If you take an LFD test and the result is positive, you should immediately isolate yourself to avoid spreading the infection to others. You should arrange for a PCR test. If the result of this PCR test is positive, you should self-isolate and follow the advice for people with COVID-19. If this PCR test result is negative, you can stop self-isolation, but you should continue to do your daily LFD tests. If you live with other people, they don`t have to self-isolate, but you should follow the advice on how to avoid transmitting COVID-19 to the people you live with. If you don`t live with other people, consider asking others for help or delivery services for essential activities like groceries. Self-isolation can be especially difficult if you are caring for children or vulnerable people who cannot stay with friends or family. If the daily test result is negative, employees can participate in work and perform important activities for the next 24 hours, such as grocery shopping when no one else can do it for them, exercise in an outdoor space, and respond to medical emergencies. If the test is positive or they develop symptoms, they should self-isolate immediately.
Employees are asked to take a number of other steps to minimize the risk of onward transmission, such as avoiding poorly ventilated public places. If you need to self-isolate and work outside of where you are self-isolating, you must inform your employer. If you don`t, you can receive a fixed fine of £50. It is no longer a legal requirement for sites to require individuals to “register”, although this is still encouraged to stop the spread of COVID-19. For more information, see the guide to keeping records of staff, clients and visitors in support of the NHS Test and Trace. The guidelines have been revised for clarity. In addition, there is a new section on collecting customer and visitor data for NHS Test and Trace. The section “If an employee develops symptoms and requests a test” has been supplemented with the following information: If an interaction between 2 people took place via a plexiglass screen (or equivalent screen), this would not be considered sufficient contact.