Coronavirus and sick pay.

[Woody Guthrie]

We've had various LTBs from the union mostly rehashing the same advice about washing your hands but it's time for some definitive answers from Royal Mail on how it's going to handle the next phase of the Coronavirus outbreak.

1. If a member of staff is given advice to self isolate will they receive sick pay despite not officially being sick. (They may have to self isolate if a member of their family is sick). This is not the same as Time off for dependants which is unpaid because it is you who has been advised to self isolate.

2. The guidance given by the authorities if a member of staff becomes ill at work is that they are kept at least 2 metres from anyone, taken to a private room and told to phone nhs111 on their own phone and await further instructions/an ambulance. Following this all surfaces that person may have came into contact with should be cleaned. So the question is will the rest of the staff be sent home?

My advice to reps who encounter problems with sick pay under the first circumstance is make it clear to management that if members aren't paid they are likely to turn up for work. They will obviously not under any circumstances allow this to happen and they will be forced to precautionary suspend staff (on full pay) on health and safety grounds. A pointless exercise for Royal Mail.

[daveyeff]

and will they be on a stage if they catch it and are off for 14 days or more.

[Lincox]

My word. Health and Safety Grounds. Whenever did Royal Mail ever care about H&S. If I ever mentioned that to a Manager, he/she would become a Whiter Shade of Pale and probably go off sick .

[Woody Guthrie]

My word. Health and Safety Grounds. Whenever did Royal Mail ever care about H&S.

When the consequences mean half your office goes down with the virus and the individual manager could end up in court facing corporate manslaughter.

Self preservation makes saints out of sinners.

[Startingover]

Some companies have announced that they will keep their staff on full pay if they have to self isolate.

It would be interesting to know if Royal Mail will treat everyone, whether they be posties / cleaners / IT staff / HR the same way if anyone does have to self isolate?

[LouBarlow]

and will they be on a stage if they catch it and are off for 14 days or more.

Of course they will. You get staged even if you have cancer.

[Janet Brum]

I heard on the radio news earlier today that self isolation will get sick pay, I don`t know about stages but in this case I don`t think RM will apply any if it`s a government directive.

[Lincox]

I heard on the radio news earlier today that self isolation will get sick pay, I don`t know about stages but in this case I don`t think RM will apply any if it`s a government directive.

Was that Royal Mail Sick Pay or just Statutory Sick Pay? There is a gulf of difference in what you might get paid.

[SpacePhoenix]

I heard on the radio news earlier today that self isolation will get sick pay, I don`t know about stages but in this case I don`t think RM will apply any if it`s a government directive.

I think some companies are treating it just like any other sickness so whatever their normal procedure for sick is. If RM issue stages for anyone who self isolates then they're probably going to get people come into work and potentially spread it around an office (and potentially to other offices as well)

[Zicomurphy]

Yep, I think if it will count towards a stage being issued or not will be as big a concern for lots of people as if they will pay sick pay or not.

[clashcityrocker]

and will they be on a stage if they catch it and are off for 14 days or more.

Of course they will. You get staged even if you have cancer.

No you don't.
Cancer from the point of diagnosis is treated as a disability under the Equality Act and exempt from the attendance procedure.
You could only get staged if your rep was woefully incompetent or the absence wasn't linked to the cancer.

Some years back advice was issued that absences due to swine flu shouldn't to be counted under the attendance procedure.

[Schiff]

Yep, I think if it will count towards a stage being issued or not will be as big a concern for lots of people as if they will pay sick pay or not.

There isn't a chance in hell of even Royal Mail treating absence due to this virus, or government recommended self isolation towards any stage. Any employment tribunal down the line would absolutely crucify them if they did.

[Woody Guthrie]

Yep, I think if it will count towards a stage being issued or not will be as big a concern for lots of people as if they will pay sick pay or not.

There isn't a chance in hell of even Royal Mail treating absence due to this virus, or government recommended self isolation towards any stage. Any employment tribunal down the line would absolutely crucify them if they did.

Employment tribunals don't work like that.
The don't judge whether a policy is fair or not.
They're only interested in whether the business followed its own process properly or not.

It would be difficult to argue why Coronavirus should be treated any differently to a severe chest infection. Both can lead to pneumonia, both are potentially fatal, a chest infection will lead to a stage warning.

[daveyeff]

and will they be on a stage if they catch it and are off for 14 days or more.

Of course they will. You get staged even if you have cancer.

No you don't.
Cancer from the point of diagnosis is treated as a disability under the Equality Act and exempt from the attendance procedure.
You could only get staged if your rep was woefully incompetent or the absence wasn't linked to the cancer.

Some years back advice was issued that absences due to swine flu shouldn't to be counted under the attendance procedure.

well i can't comment on the cancer, but i know for a fact they ignore the Equality Act when it suits them. you might know from some of my previous posts that ive had my knees replaced, due to having arthritis. OHS told me and RM that my condition is a disability that comes under the Equality Act. just recently i was off for surgery on my shoulder due to arthritis and needed a few things done. it was ''corrective surgery'' so needed to be done. i was in a sling for 6 weeks then had to wait a further 4 weeks for the 'anchor' to graft to the bone. so off nearly 3 months. manager issued the stage regardless. Rep mentioned all the necessaries in the interview, but he STILL issued. they KNOW you can't appeal. and grievances are pointless. nowt happens.

[Zicomurphy]

Yep, I think if it will count towards a stage being issued or not will be as big a concern for lots of people as if they will pay sick pay or not.

There isn't a chance in hell of even Royal Mail treating absence due to this virus, or government recommended self isolation towards any stage. Any employment tribunal down the line would absolutely crucify them if they did.

Employment tribunals don't work like that.
The don't judge whether a policy is fair or not.
They're only interested in whether the business followed its own process properly or not.

It would be difficult to argue why Coronavirus should be treated any differently to a severe chest infection. Both can lead to pneumonia, both are potentially fatal, a chest infection will lead to a stage warning.

And this is the problem.

Imagine already being on a stage two warning and you know any further absence could trigger a stage three. You start to feel unwell but still feel capable of working but are worried you have Coronavirus. You call 111 and they advise you to self isolate until you can get tested. Do you risk losing your job and go sick or do you ignore the advise and hope you just have a cold or flu and try to work through it, potentially spreading the virus throughout your office.