

For many people, homeworking will not be possible, but they still face the possibility of 14 days of self-isolation, under the guidelines announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In the recent Budget, some changes were made to the sick pay system which they may need to fall back on. There has been concern that people will be more likely to infect others if they do not have incentives to stay at home when they are at risk.

Who needs to work from home?



Who provides the equipment?

An employer is responsible for equipment they supply, and must say what it should be used for. The question of who covers the running costs should ideally be outlined as soon as possible, and would normally be part of any working from home agreement. Given the current situation, extra costs, such as phone bills, may need to be claimed. Employers will need evidence, but can explain how the expenses system works, and whether these costs are taxable.

Who is responsible for workers while they work?

An employer has a duty of care for staff, even if they are working at home. The requirements of the health and safety legislation apply to homeworkers too, according to the employment conciliation service ACAS.

What if I cannot work from home?

Owing to the financial pressures, some businesses have asked staff to take unpaid leave. Employers have the right to tell workers to take holiday if they decide to shut for a period of time. It is impossible for many people to work from home. However, under the new guidelines, if one person in any household has a persistent cough or fever, everyone living there must stay at home for 14 days.


Provisions for sick leave vary from company to company. Many employees will have contracts that allow them their normal pay while they are unable to work because they are sick. But the situation with self-isolation is more complicated – workers may not actually be sick so will not automatically be entitled to their contractual sick pay. That decision will be down to employers but the employment conciliation service ACAS said it was “good practice” to offer contractual sick pay.


What is statutory sick pay?


The rules were also changed so that those people would be eligible for SSP on their first day away from work, instead of having to wait until the fourth day as used to be the case. He also announced that businesses with fewer than 250 employees would be able to claim back from the government two weeks of SSP paid to staff affected by coronavirus.

How much is statutory sick pay?

It is set at £94.25 a week, although of course employers could pay more if they want to. This will rise to £95.85 per week on 6th April 2020. To put that into context, average weekly earnings in the UK in December last year stood at £544 a week.

To get SSP people need to be earning at least £118 (£120 from 6th April 2020) a week. Many people such as those on zero-hours contracts – who work variable hours every week – may earn less than this.

The Trades Union Congress has calculated that there are two million workers who are not eligible for SSP and Labour has asked the government whether they will now be covered. It is estimated that there were 1,766,000 jobs done by adults in the UK that paid less than £118 a week. The number of people involved is likely to be somewhat lower than this because one person could have more than one of these jobs. And indeed, if somebody has more than one of these jobs it could take them above the £118 a week needed to qualify. About 70% of these jobs are done by women. The GMB union has called on the government to force companies to give full pay to workers who are isolating themselves to prevent the spread of coronavirus.


Will self-employed people get sick pay?

Broadly speaking, employees are entitled to sick pay and self-employed people are not. In the latest UK figures for the last three months of 2019, there were about 28 million employed people and about five million self-employed. The government has said it will make it “quicker and easier” for self-employed people affected by coronavirus to access benefits.

The chancellor said that those on contributory employment and support Allowance (ESA) will be able to claim from day one, instead of day eight. He is also temporarily removing the minimum income floor from universal credit. The minimum income floor would have taken into account how much you would normally expect to earn in a month when calculating your entitlement to universal credit. Not having the floor means they will be able to claim for time they spend off work due to sickness.

What is universal credit?

He said they would not need to attend a job centre and could apply on the phone or online instead. The government has also announced a new £500m fund to support economically vulnerable people, which will be allocated by local authorities.


If you have a relative who is ill, or your children’s school is closed, for example, your employer must give you time off to do so. But your employer is not forced to pay you unless your contract requires it.