Can my work force me to isolate?

[oregan49]

I work in a care home. We are expected to stay away from work if we test positive for Covid or have symptoms. Can they enforce this?

Recently they stopped paying if off with Covid. I thought legally you don't have to isolate anymore?

Also can they enforce weekly PCR tests?

I can't afford several days off unpaid especially with increasing bills and only being paid minimum wage.

We are still asked to wear masks but residents do not. If a resident tests positive we obviously still care for them. I don't want to put people at risk but I can't afford to get into debt or lose my home.

Have a look at this:

www.hilldickinson.com/insights/articles/covid-19-removal-duty-self-isolate-faqs

This is from the government guidance from care homes:
Staff with symptoms should take a lateral flow test as soon as they develop symptoms and if this is a negative, take another lateral flow test 48 hours after the first test. Symptomatic staff should stay away from work and conduct the lateral flow tests at home. Staff should only come into work if both lateral flow test results are negative. For those who test positive on either test the guidance on ending self-isolation early through additional testing remains the same.

So it is guidance, but I doubt that CQC sees it that way, so I think you may be on sticky ground if this came to a legal case. Whilst a tribunal might consider it a medical suspension as suggested in that article, there is no clear law on these specific circumstances, and clearly a care or medical setting is very different from other workplaces. The law around medical suspension was written for pre-pandemic situations, and whilst I am not particularly enamoured of the employment terms in the care sector, which are generally pretty awful, going to work when positive for Covid in that circumstance is knowingly putting a vulnerable group at risk of infection. It hasn't been tested in law - but unless you are in a union I wouldn't be sure that you'd want to find out what the answer is. Obviously, if you are in a union, then that is the best place to get detailed advice.

They can certainly insist on testing. That is like any other form of testing - if they make it a condition of service then they can conduct it. And the guidance also says that tests should be conducted.

I do appreciate that SSP is not generous, but surely you get paid SSP if off for several days?

The full guidance is here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/infection-prevention-and-control-in-adult-social-care-covid-19-supplement/summary-of-changes-to-covid-19-guidance-for-adult-social-care-providers

I don't know what to say as usual underpaid care staff being treated dreadfully.

I guess there is no legal obligation to pay you as they are private companies. SSP is not great either. I can only suggest you start looking for another job. This is why we have no care workers no one cares until we need them.
Obviously they cannot force you to take lateral flows, as I assume you are doing them at home, they can only recommend.

Obviously they cannot force you to take lateral flows, as I assume you are doing them at home, they can only recommend.

This is wrong. They can refuse to allow the OP to work unless she produces evidence of a negative test (the OP refers to PCR tests, not lateral flow). If the OP wants to work, they can force the OP to take tests.

On the OP, the employer has a duty to protect other staff and the care home residents. So yes, they can stop you working if you test positive or have symptoms regardless of the law around self-isolation.

On the OP, the employer has a duty to protect other staff and the care home residents. So yes, they can stop you working if you test positive or have symptoms regardless of the law around self-isolation.

I agree. But I think the OP is more concerned with not being paid, and the real question would be "who pays if the employer prevents you from working". Which is obviously a thorny question because pre-pandemic, and in almost all other circumstances, this would be a medical suspension, which would be on full pay. Perhaps what is more disturbing is that this is an area of law that has never been tested, because in reality care workers shouldn't ever have been working with vulnerable clients if they have ANY infectious disease, including colds and flu. It is worrying that this hasn't been tested before because employers in this sector should have been protecting clients from such diseases all along, so it shouldn't now come as a surprise to them that vulnerable clients need protecting from infectious disease. It says a lot about the sector.

One other thing that occurred to me, is that they might be on zero hours contracts. Many in the care sector are. In which case it is ever so easy for the employer - they don't have to offer work, so if they say you can't come in until [insert any reason they give, including Covid] then you have no right to work anyway.

You are caring for vulnerable people who could die if you attend work, so I can understand them not wanting you there whilst you are Covid positive, however we work to survive so not paying you is also unfair. Can you do anything none contact if you feel well enough to work, ie cleaning or back office?

Of course they can. They're following current guidelines. You're working with vulnerable people, do you not think it's sensible? It might not be law anymore but there are still guidelines that all professionals should follow.

It's crazy isn't it, how many staff will be forced to fake a test as they cannot afford the time off potentially every few months, I totally understand that and I have a vulnerable parent in a care home. It's a disastrous situation.

Reminds me of a friend who reported bird flu on his farm six months ago, the government are so concerned about human transition they understandably locked him down, culled the birds and cleaned up. They are now trying to charge him £29k to dig the soil out of that barn as biohazard waste.

As you can imagine there's now a pretty big radius of farmers round here who will not report bird flu.

Any care home staff who fake tests are taking a big risk. They may be prosecuted under the Health & Safety at Work Act for failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of others, which carries a sentence of up to two years imprisonment. If a resident dies and it can be shown that a member of staff who came into contact with them was working whilst infected, that member of staff may face a charge of gross negligence manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of imprisonment for life. Even if a patient doesn't die, staff faking tests could potentially face a charge of wilful neglect, which carries a sentence of up to five years imprisonment. There may also be other offences committed if someone fakes a test.

Similarly, farmers who fail to report avian flu are committing an offence punishable by an unlimited fine and up to three months in prison.

I sympathise with care home staff who may find themselves out of pocket if they test positive for Covid-19 but putting residents' lives at risk is not the way to deal with it.