The government has outlined new information about travelling abroad on summer holidays 2021. The red, amber, green zones highlight strict guidelines everyone must follow. Failure to do so will result in hefty fines.
Effective from 17th May 2021, the government have given the go ahead to travel to 12 (green zone) countries and, upon return, the employee will not need to isolate provided that they produce a negative covid result.
With travellers returning back to the UK from a red zone, they must (a) take a covid test (b) book a quarantine hotel for 10 days.
Quarantine
All amber zone countries employees will need to quarantine at home for 10 days and must take a covid 19 test.
You must follow these rules even if you have been vaccinated.
These implications will have huge impact on businesses. The employer will need to put a contingency plan in place should the employee travel to a red or amber zone and will need to isolate upon their return back to the UK. Possible questions asked here is ‘can employees work from home?’ If they can, management would need to put a work plan in place and to provide all the necessary tools i.e. a work lap top.
If the employee cannot work from home as they need to isolate, this will be unpaid for 2 weeks. However, if the employee returns back to the UK with covid symptoms they will be eligible for SSP. The employee must provide evidence of this i.e. NHS app.
Annual leave
But what if the employer refuse to grant annual leave because they are travelling to a red/amber zone? The employer will not be able to control what the employee does on their own time off. Instead it should be made clear to the employee that upon return they must follow the government guidance on isolation and that this time will be unpaid.
As employees holidays continue to build up, the employer has a responsibility to manage their staff annual leave entitlement. The employer must act in a proactive manner rather than to leave it to the employee to decide. The employer could force the employee to take annual leave. The default statutory position under the Working Time Regulations 1998 is that the notice period to request annual leave from the employee or worker to the employer must be at least twice the period of leave requested. Many employers are enforcing this rule to avoid excessive holiday build up.
Holiday rules can get complicated which is why now is the right time to review your internal annual leave policy and/or travel policy so that holidays are managed correctly and that all staff are treated fairly.
The article is for general information purposes only and should you require any further assistance on the matter please do not hesitate to call our advice-line team on 01455 852028.
