CALLING ALL
READERS
We want to hear your employment
law issues. Send us your questions
to feature here next month.
Email: chris.beck@markallengroup.com
Our most recent shipment
from a supplier in China
arrived in early February, and
was quarantined and tested
for any signs of coronavirus
before it arrived. However,
some employees have refused
to touch it, ‘just in case’. Is
there anything we can do?
The UK has recently declared
the outbreak of coronavirus
(COVID-19) a ‘serious and
imminent threat to public
health’. This, understandably,
creates concern for those who
could be affected by the virus
or come into contact with it.
Furthermore, there is no current
vaccine. However, it is important
to stress that the virus is still –
at the time of writing – relatively
rare worldwide outside of China
and a small number of cases
have been reported in the UK.
Having the container
quarantined and tested for the
virus before arriving at your
factory was sensible. There is
currently no legal obligation
on an employer to undertake
checks on their products coming
from an affected area. In fact,
official government advice states
that there is no perceived risk
for handling post or freight
from specified areas. That said,
employers have a duty of care to
ensure the health and safety of
their employees and testing the
shipment for the virus ensures
that staff are not exposed to it.
If employees are refusing
to work, despite the shipment
containing no trace of the virus,
this could be a disciplinary
matter which should be dealt
with in accordance with the
contracts of employment
and company handbook. The
government has provided
COVID-19 guidance for
employers and businesses
(https://bit.ly/2vrCBBp), and it
would be wise to consider this
before taking any action.
As the virus wasn’t present
in the shipment, it would likely
be unreasonable for employees
to refuse to return to work,
especially where it is to the
detriment of your business. Also,
if no employees have the virus,
the risk of infection is very low.
There should be general
protocols in place to deal with
ill health in the workplace. If
an employee was to catch the
coronavirus, similar procedures
should be followed and an
employer should prepare and
react in a swift manner to
contain the outbreak. Remember,
too, that if an employee was to
contract the virus, any negative
treatment as a consequence
could be discriminatory.
In terms of general advice,
employers should ensure that
staff are aware of common sense
rules relating to personal hygiene
(such as washing their hands
with soap and covering their
nose and mouth when sneezing).
Employees should be aware of
the symptoms of the virus and
who to contact if concerned, as
well as to stay off work if unwell.
It would also be sensible
to implement a requirement
for employees to disclose
whether they have visited a
high-risk area or have come into
contact with anyone showing
symptoms. Keeping up-to-date
with government advice and
conveying this to employees
is recommended; ACAS has
provided guidance (https://bit.
ly/2HZBzzg) on the outbreak,
which might be useful to
circulate. Continuing to test
shipments may mitigate any
risk and allay employees’ fears.
Know your law...
The government’s
coronavirus
advice is being
continuously updated, and
should be monitored by
employers – with any changes
to the advice relayed to
employees as they happen.
www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk 13
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