{"content":[{"text":"to provide their journey or contact details, or self-isolate for 14 days. There is also a lengthy \n list of travellers who will be exempt from English border rules.","bbox":{"left":0.083249,"top":0.088156,"width":0.833438,"height":0.035999}},{"text":"All requests for annual leave are approved at the discretion of the employer who will take a \n number of considerations into account, such as maintenance of service delivery and the need \n for employees who may have worked hard throughout the crisis to have time for rest and \n recuperation. However, it has not been appropriate, until now, for the employer to ask where \n the employee’s leave will be taken. Therefore, because of the new rules it is now imperative \n that when an employee submits a request for leave that involves travelling abroad, they are \n reminded of the government’s advice to avoid all non-essential travel and the requirement to \n self-isolate for 14 days on their return.","bbox":{"left":0.083249,"top":0.137353,"width":0.833569,"height":0.13432099999999997}},{"text":"Some countries may also require travellers to quarantine on arrival, which would impact on \n the expected length of stay and should be taken into account by the employee when booking \n leave.","bbox":{"left":0.083249,"top":0.284873,"width":0.8335889999999999,"height":0.052366000000000024}},{"text":"NJC circular dated 12 February drew attention to the provision set out in the ‘Green Book’ \n sickness scheme at Part 2 Para 10.9, as follows:","bbox":{"left":0.083249,"top":0.350473,"width":0.833306,"height":0.035975000000000035}},{"text":"“An employee who is prevented from attending work because of contact with infectious \n disease shall be entitled to receive normal pay. The period of absence on this account \n shall not be reckoned against the employee’s entitlements under this scheme”","bbox":{"left":0.108043,"top":0.402065,"width":0.808664,"height":0.048705}},{"text":"We advised that if an employee was required to self-isolate or was placed in quarantine, the \n provision above should be applied. However, the advice in that circular, in respect of travel \n abroad, was intended to cover circumstances in which an employee unwittingly found \n themselves needing to self-isolate due to regulations in the UK changing whilst they were out \n of the country.","bbox":{"left":0.083249,"top":0.46521,"width":0.833498,"height":0.08514900000000003}},{"text":"The situation now is that employees booking holidays from this point forward will be going \n abroad fully cognisant of the quarantine requirements on re-entering the UK. Accordingly, \n some employers may assume that an employee who travels abroad in full knowledge of the \n requirement to self-isolate on their return should be required to take additional leave (paid or \n unpaid) to cover the 14-day period, unless it is agreed they are able to carry out their work \n from home.","bbox":{"left":0.083249,"top":0.563581,"width":0.833569,"height":0.10153900000000005}},{"text":"However, there will be a number of considerations that need to be taken into account to \n ensure the employer’s policy is clear, applied fairly and is reasonable in relation to individual \n circumstances.","bbox":{"left":0.083249,"top":0.678319,"width":0.833176,"height":0.052366000000000024}},{"text":"Employers should in the first instance consider all opportunities to facilitate the employee to \n work from home. Failing that, they should take great care to ensure that any requirement to \n take additional leave is exercised reasonably, with a view to minimising the impact on \n particular groups of employees through blanket rules. For example, where an employee \n cannot do their normal work at home, the employer should consider whether it would be \n reasonable to redeploy them to alternative duties that they could carry out at home. Further, \n the employer could explore the option of the employee making up the 14 days’ leave over a \n period of time, so they do not incur a drop in pay. Realistically, however, those who can work \n from home while in quarantine are going to be much less of an issue for employers in this \n regard.","bbox":{"left":0.083249,"top":0.743883,"width":0.833589,"height":0.16713500000000003}},{"text":"Page 2 of 3","bbox":{"left":0.457048,"top":0.942072,"width":0.08569800000000005,"height":0.01625500000000002}}],"images_bbox":[],"images_bbox_not_text_overlap":[]}