Shielding and quarantine

The Government has announced two important changes for employers with regard to coronavirus (COVID19).

The first is a change to the guidance regarding shielding, so that now in some areas of the country the "pause" of shielding will not apply, and shielding will continue. The specific areas are detailed in the guidance. This means that those employees who were shielding and had been furloughed for this reason can continue to be furloughed as the Government shielding programme will still apply.

The other announcement was that with effect from 31 July 2020 all registered Health and Care Workers must self-isolate for 14 days on return to England from high risk countries. This removes the previous exemption that was in place with the aim of ensuring health and care professionals returning from overseas could return to England to provide essential healthcare. Click here to read the announcement.