COVID-19 (coronavirus) – what do paid carers need to know? Keeping clients safe, self-isolation and sick pay

There is a lot of information going around about the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19. YtB felt there was little to help paid carers understand their situation, or that of the people they care for. 

Paid carers work with some very vulnerable people and so everyone wants to take all necessary precautions.  This article aims to pull together relevant information and make suggestions specific to paid carers.  

[ADS]One of the key changes that has been announced recently is to Statutory Sick Pay. The Prime Minister has announced emergency legislation will be passed to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.  The legislation will enable people to receive Statutory Sick Pay from day one of an illness rather than waiting until day four.  The Government have also stated that this will apply for those who are self-isolating, as ‘Nobody should be penalised for doing the right thing’.   At the moment the details of the legislation are not known, but according to the BBC’s Kevin Peachey it is “understood that this change will be temporary during the period of the outbreak, but may effectively apply to all illnesses”.   

In the budget on 11th March 2020, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced that businesses with fewer than 250 employees will also be able to claim back the cost of SSP for 14 days.  So this means that for people who employ their own carers, they will be able to get some help with the cost of SSP. It’s also possible they’ll be able to get financial help with finding a replacement through their insurance.

 

What does self-isolation mean?  

For paid carers 

Self-isolation means just that: you should stay at home and where possible isolate yourself from other members of your family.  You should stay in a well-ventilated room, not share towels, plates, cutlery etc.  The Government’s advice on self-isolation and how to manage things practically can be found here. 

You need to remember that, in addition to the obvious and serious health implications, if you are supposed to be self-isolating and are found to be out and about by your employer (if employed), then you are likely to face disciplinary action – which could include dismissal. If you are self-employed, your client may invoke the termination clause in your contract (and your reputation as a paid carer locally is likely to be significantly damaged).  

For people who need care

For those who need day-to-day care, it is harder to self-isolate. If you’re employed by the client then they, as the employer, have a duty of care to protect employees from physical harm while at work. What this means in practice regarding COVID-19 is that they should carry out a risk assessment (in reality this is likely to be with you and/or their family) and put in place all mitigation possible (see below).  If having carried out the risk assessment you find there is a greater risk to you as an employee, you cannot be forced to continue to provide that care.  If the risk assessment shows that there is no increased risk to you, but you choose not to attend work, then you could be in breach of your contract and disciplinary action could follow.  

If you’re self-employed, you should conduct your own risk assessment and base your decision about continued work around the risk to yourself vs the risk to your client. If you choose to not continue providing care to your client, you will need to give notice in line with your contract.  

Guidance by the Public Health Agency on dealing with flu (advice that can also be applied to the current situation) suggests that no outpatient appointments, group activities, day centre attendance, other appointments should be attended.  

SSP 

Who is entitled? 

To qualify for SSP you must have started working for your employer and earn an average of at least £118 per week. The average is calculated by taking the gross earnings for the past eight weeks, so effectively you need to have earned £944 before any deductions (tax, NI, pension, etc).   A critical element of entitlement is that you must notify your employer in line with your contract, and at least within 7 days. The reality is the majority of paid carers will notify straight away, as they’ll want the person they care for know asap that they’re not able to come and support them.  

How much is SSP? 

£94.25 per week. 

Zero-hours contracts

It’s important to note that the above does not discriminate between those who are employees and those who are workers, including those on zero-hours contracts. This means that if you’re on a zero-hours contract, but have earned an average of £118 per week over the past eight weeks, then you should be entitled to SSP from your employer. Changing your hours (to zero) to avoid paying SSP is unlikely to be considered lawful if challenged. 

We have noticed on a number of forums that paid carers are saying that they’re not entitled to SSP as they’re on zero-hours contracts. If you are on a zero-hours contract and have concerns over eligibility, speak to Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

 

Self-employed carers

 If you aren’t entitled to SSP, then you may be able to get financial support through benefits; changes have been made to the system in light of COVID-19 to help speed up the process to receive benefits. These all come into effect from the 13th March 2020, and include: 

 

• Being able to apply for Universal Credit and receiving up to a month’s advance upfront without physically attending a jobcentre 
• ESA payable from day one for new claimants suffering from, or required to stay at home due to, coronavirus. 

Self-certifying 

Under current legislation, you’re only able to self-certify sickness for up to seven days, after which you are usually required to get a ‘fit note’ from your GP.  As we know, the incubation period for COVID-19 is up to 14 days and self-isolation would make it difficult to obtain the fit note. The Government is advising employers to use discretion about medical certification after the seven days, but has said that where people require evidence for their employer that they need to stay at home due to COVID-19, NHS 111 Online will soon be able to provide this.  

What if you work for more than one employer?

SSP is not restricted to just one employer; if you meet the eligibility criteria for two or more employers, then you can claim it for both. So for each employer you would have needed to earn at least an average of at least £118 per week.

What happens if your employer asks you to stay away from work? 

If you’re asked to stay away from work by your employer because they are sick, or self-isolating, then you should receive full pay. If you have been asked to stay away from work by your employer because they believe that you should be self-isolating, or are sick, then you may qualify for SSP and you should speak to your employer about this.  

This is where it becomes a grey area regarding zero-hours contracts. On the one hand, you could argue that if you are sick/self-isolating (and eligible) you should be entitled to SSP. However if your employer cancels your shifts because they are sick, self-isolating, or minimising risk, then you probably would not be eligible for SSP or full pay.  

What happens if you turn up for work when you think you might be ill, or know that you have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19? 

Employers have a duty of care to their staff – this is under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Similarly, under this Act, employees have certain responsibilities too. Workers/employees have a duty to ‘take care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by your actions at work’.  Workers must cooperate with employers and co-workers to help everyone meet their legal requirements (HSE Guidance). This means that by turning up to work knowing that you may be ill with COVID-19, or may have come into contact with someone who has it, would be in breach of your personal duty. Legally, according to Worksmart: “An employee who is in breach of his or her duties under the HASAWA may be liable to pay a fine or conviction”. You may also be subject to disciplinary action and/or dismissal. 

For self-employed paid carers, the Health and Safety At Work Act (HASAWA) still applies even though you are self-employed as ‘your work activity poses a risk to the health and safety of others’. This means that, as with employed carers, turning up at work with COVID-19, or if you reasonably believe you may be at risk of having come into contact with someone who has COVID-19, would be in breach of your personal duty.  

What happens if you are concerned about going to work because of COVID-19?

Clearly, for some people, the reality of a new virus circulating is very scary and can make them reluctant to put themselves in a position where they perceive they may be at higher risk of infection. However,  we should remember that for the majority of people the risks relatively low.  

If you, or a family member, are in one of the groups that the World Health Organisation (WHO) state are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19, then clearly its entirely understandable that you’re concerned. Old Square Chambers says that employers should ‘especially consider the needs of any employees who may have particular cause for concern about the risk of infection … The employer should carefully consider their concerns in light of its obligations to take reasonable steps to provide a safe working environment’. 

ACAS suggests that annual leave or a period of unpaid leave may be an option for some people where flexible working is not an option. However, it also states that, ‘If an employee refuses to attend work, it could result in disciplinary action’. It can be assumed that this could only occur where the employer has taken reasonable steps to provide a safe working environment and you are not someone who has a particular cause for concern.  

If you have concerns, you should speak to your employer as soon as possible to enable you and them to put in place a contingency plan. 

Self-employed carers clearly have choice over whether they attend work or not, as long as they are delivering the agreed contract and/or giving notice to clients in line with contractual agreements. If you believed that your client was at risk of having COVID-19 or had COVID-19 then a clause under client responsibilities may well trigger in the contract. For example, in the YtB template contract for self-employed carers it states that clients have a responsibility to inform the paid carer if for some reason they are unable to receive the service as agreed due to illness … and work with the paid carer to identify and address any Health and Safety concerns within the workplace. 

However,  clients still need supporting; many of them rely on their carers to enable them to live, have dignity and have human contact. Many paid carers won’t want to stop supporting the clients they have built a relationship with. So how do you keep yourself as safe as possible?  

Practical advice 

If you have a client who you believe may have COVID-19 or does have COVID-19, then it’s tricky as clearly they still need care and many cannot realistically live their life in self-isolation without the support of a carer to help them:

• Manage their medication 
• Prepare and eat food 
• Get to the toilet
• Wash and dress 

This means that should COVID-19 spread in the way that it has in other countries, then we need some practical suggestions. Currently, there appears to be little about, however, there is guidance from the public health agency on dealing with seasonal flu. Many of these suggestions can be used by carers who choose to continue to supporting their clients and/or family members: 

• Hand washing – as per the current Government guidance
• Use liquid soap and disposable paper towels 
• Use single-use plastic aprons and gloves 
• Increase cleaning, paying additional attention to ‘touch points’ and equipment 
• Using tissues to catch coughs and sneezes, as per the current guidance 
• Having foot-operated bins 
• Treating laundry as infected (practically this means wearing a disposable apron and gloves when taking it to the laundry, and washing with detergent using the hot wash cycle)
• Double bag all rubbish and store it rather than putting it out for collection. 

Reducing exposure 

• Identifying processes for visitors on entering and leaving, and excluding unnecessary visit/visitors
• Staff/carers should not attend other setting’s (ie visit other clients) or attend training, realistically staff/carers should minimise contacts 

What happens if you pass on COVID-19 to a client?

Obviously this is the last thing that any paid carer wants to happen, but the reality is that because of the work that you do, it may happen. With an incubation period of up to 14 days, and working with people in the community, paid carers could pass on the virus if and when COVID-19 becomes more widespread.  

Clearly all the guidance on reducing the chances of passing on a virus should be taken (as far as possible - it’s tricky to provide personal care and remain at a distance of 2 metres!).     

If the worst happens and you inadvertently pass on the virus, then self-employed carers may be worried about their liability and the financial implications. We spoke to our friends at Surewise Insurance who said that: “If you [were] found to be legally liable for injury or damage to third-party property as a result of COVID-19, then there [would be] potential for consideration under the Public ... liability sections of the policy.”

Next steps 

Clearly one of the most important thing that you can do, for both you and your clients, is to undertake a risk assessment and make a contingency plan. We’ll be posting more about this shortly, but it is better to be prepared and make a plan that will never be used than run the risk of not having the plan.  

The thing that we know about the paid carers we work with is, they care about the clients they work with and want to make sure they have the best care they can. So, by being prepared, speaking to the neighbours and family members of the people you care for, can help make everyone feel more prepared and secure.