New Coronavirus Regulations came into force last night.
The new rules affect employers as follows:
- New regulation 7 requires that employers should not knowingly allow a worker (including an agency worker) to attend any place other than where the person is or should be self-isolating. This includes individuals who live with someone who has tested positive;
- Workers are obliged to tell their employer that they are self-isolating. (If the worker does not self isolate they will, normally, commit a separate criminal offence); and
- If an employer knows a worker has tested positive (or lives with someone who has tested positive), there is now a positive obligation on the employer to stop the worker from carrying out work (unless they can work from home). Any employer who fails to do so will face a fine, starting at £1,000.
