News
Can you afford to be off work with swine flu?
Published November 2009
Employers are reacting in different ways to the threat of swine flu, from seeking vaccinations for key staff to demanding their employees stay away at the first sign of a sniffle.
The government estimates that sometime in August or September 12% of the workforce to be absent and is trying to give businesses advice on how to cope with the disruption.
But what about the individual? We’re getting advice from every quarter on how to stay healthy but in credit-crunch Britain can you afford to be off sick? What happens if your boss doesn’t want you in work because you know someone who has swine flu - will you get paid? What if you have to stay at home to look after someone who is sick?
Leading employment lawyer Bethan Darwin, a partner at Cardiff-based Darwin Gray Solicitors, answers these and other questions on the employment rights of Great British workforce.
Q: Do I get paid if I’m off sick?
A: If you are too ill to work, whether diagnosed with swine flu or simply suffering from flu like symptoms, it's the same drill as other sickness absences. You can self certify for the first seven days (the Government may make this 14 days, but hasn’t yet).
Employees become entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP) on the fourth day of sickness absence at the weekly rate of £79.15. Your employer may operate a more generous contractual sick pay scheme in which case the details of your entitlements will be in your contract.
Q: I am not actually sick but have been in close contact with someone with swine flu and my doctor has advised me to stay at home. Will I get sick pay?
A: The regulations do deem that someone who is told by a doctor not to work for precautionary reasons is still deemed incapable of work. Therefore, you would qualify for SSP and probably any contractual sick pay scheme that exists. If the kind of work you do could be done at home, your employer may ask you to work from home but unless it states this in your contract it would have to be with your consent. And if you are doing the work at home, you should get pay as normal and not sick pay.
Q: My eight year old daughter has swine flu but I can't afford not to work, so I’m going in anyway.
A: Tricky one this …your employer has to safeguard the health and safety of the other employees. Based on predictions for the spread of the disease (we are all going to come in contact with it eventually) and that the government has not restricted mass gatherings, public transport etc, it could be argued that there isn’t a significant threat to other employees’ health and safety.
However, your colleagues may be anxious, particularly if they are pregnant or have pregnant family at home, or have been identified as being particularly at risk from swine flu. Your employer could insist you do not come to work but he’ll need to pay you in full.
Alternatively he could ask you to take a medical with their GP or your own doctor, to determine whether you are incapable of work due to exposure to swine flu. And if you are ‘incapable’, he may put you on sick pay but the hassle and cost may make it easier to pay you normal pay to stay away from work.
Q: I do not have swine flu but my eight year old daughter does and I have to stay at home to look after her.
A: You may argue that you are incapable of work as you’ve been exposed to swine flu and so entitled to sick pay. Even if that is not the case, you have the right to emergency time off to care for dependants, although this is unpaid. Parents of children under five can ask for parental leave (unpaid) of up to four weeks per year in blocks of one week up to a maximum of 13 weeks for each child. The Government is urging employers to be practical and make arrangements with employees to cover such situations, including taking holiday instead.
Q: Don’t tell my boss, but I took a “swine-flu sicky” and self certified for seven days while I got a late deal to Ibiza. I’m back in the office now - fit as a fiddle, of course – but my tan is attracting attention.
A: Claiming to be off sick when you are not can lead to disciplinary action. If your company just offers statutory sick pay you must realise you won’t get paid for the first three days and then only get a proportion of £79.15 a day after that. Your boss may want to hold a return to work meeting with you to enquire about your absence and current health and could consider taking disciplinary action. They may also look at your Facebook or Bebo page, so you’d better not have posted any holiday photos up there!
