Update: Covid-19 sickness absence

A recent publication on NTK on COVID-19 sickness absences raised some queries from staff-side and management.   

We would like to clarify the only change at the time was the management of Long COVID to bring that in line with the long-term sickness absence management. This was initially provided as guidance earlier this year and as a result, the Trust’s Long COVID-19 guidance Long Covid Ongoing Support/ return to workplace guidance (eastamb.nhs.uk) was updated. 

The Trust would like to take the opportunity to apologise for any confusion this may have caused all parties. 

Last week, following consultation between national stakeholders including NHS England, NHS Employers, trade union and employer colleagues, the government has decided that now is the right time to withdraw the staff terms and conditions section of the COVID-19 workforce guidance. This decision follows the government’s publication of its plans for living with COVID-19, which saw the withdrawal of all restrictions and will facilitate the move back to normal contractual arrangements. 

The national guidance described below will commence on 7 July 2022. As part of the change, all COVID-19 sickness absence will be managed in line with the Sickness Absence Management Policy, with an engagement and notice period as described below. EEAST will ensure staff currently unwell with COVID-19, will be fully supported, and remain a Trust priority. The Trust is working in partnership with staff-side to implement our internal process, as further national publication is anticipated over the next few weeks. 

Phase	Effective from	Action
One	7 July 2022	The staff terms and conditions section of the COVID-19 guidance will be withdrawn in its entirety. This includes:  access to full sick pay for new episodes of COVID-19 sickness, however you will continue to be paid in line with the Sickness Absence Management Policy.  access to COVID-19 special leave/management stand down for the purposes of self-isolation.
Two	7 July 2022	All employees who are affected by this change (e.g. currently on COVID-19 sickness absence or COVID-19 management stand down) will have a one to one meeting (virtually or in person) with their manager by 3 August 2022.
Three	4 August 2022	The formal notice period for employees transitioning back to normal contractual sick pay arrangements will begin. This period will run from 4 to 31 August 2022 inclusive.
Four	1 September 2022	Employees who were in receipt of COVID-19 sick pay as a result of being unwell prior to 7 July, and continue to be unwell, will be transitioned back to their normal contractual sick pay entitlements unless they have already returned to work.  Any period of sickness paid as COVID-19 sick pay, regardless of length, will not count in the aggregation of previous absences for the purposes of calculating entitlement to contractual sick pay.  From this date, all employees, regardless of their reason for sickness absence, will be paid in line with their normal contractual sick pay arrangements.

  

N.B Employees (if agreed by the line manager) during a period of annual leave, will continue to have the days of absence treated as sickness, for each and all days covered by the note. 

As the Trust receives further guidance, we will update accordingly. 

Wednesday 6th July 2022