Management Guidance – STHK COVID-19 Guidance

Last updated on January 12th, 2022 at 02:55 pm

This page will be updated regularly and more information will be added as we get it.

Please read the below carefully. If after reading this you still have any questions about staffing or recording absence please email covidstaff@sthk.nhs.uk

COVID-19 social distancing non-compliance guidance

Managers are asked to continue to stress to staff the importance of following all the latest guidance and the importance of observing social distancing and appropriate PPE.

Due to instances of continued non-compliance with covid-19 precautions, social distancing and the use of appropriate PPE, it has been necessary for the Trust to consider taking disciplinary action against staff who have failed to follow Trust guidelines.

Despite frequent reminders of the importance of social distancing and PPE, some staff continue to breach procedures. This has resulted in staff having to be sent home to isolate where a patient has tested COVID positive and has impacted on staffing levels including the ability for other staff to take annual leave.

In instances where staff have failed to follow procedures that outline the requirement of social distancing and PPE, an investigation will be undertaken which could result in disciplinary action and/ or removal of pay for the period of isolation.

Please follow the link for the management guidance on COVID-19 precautions, social distancing & non-compliance

COVID-19 social distancing non-compliance guidance

Recording STAFF absences

There are multiple codes for logging absences due to COVID-19, split broadly into two categories:

Symptomatic – sickness due to COVID symptoms
Isolation – where a staff member is required to isolate at home and is not working from home (WFH).

Please click here for details on how to log the absence

There may also be instances where employees need to be medically suspended e.g. a pregnant employee 28 weeks plus gestation, who is unable to work from home (WFH).

Covid Sickness

Once a line manager has been informed that a staff member is symptomatic and sick (not WFH) due to COVID, a two-step process must be followed to accurately triage and record the absence:

1. The line manager must complete a self-isolation form electronically. The form will be triaged and advice given via email of next steps (this may include testing). This triage will take place as soon as is possible.

2. The line manager must log the absence in either ESR or e-Roster. User guides to do this can be found here

The line manager should folow the Self-Isolation process which can be found here: https://covid.sthk.nhs.uk/self-isolation-guidance/

Isolation

See the Self-Isolation Guidance page for the most up-to-date guidance.

Fit Notes

Staff members that are symptomatic are expected, in the majority of cases, to be asymptomatic by Day 7 and as such should not require a fit note.

For staff members who are isolating as part of a household the NHS has introduced an online isolation note. Staff must provide a variety of information – name, DOB, email address, reason for isolation, isolation note start date and then click “accept and send”. They will then be sent an electronic isolation note to submit to their employer.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-advice

Attendance Management Policy

Any sickness absence or isolation that is entered as COVID-19, will not contribute towards the absence trigger points under the Attendance Management Policy. Individual cases should be discussed with HR Department if uncertain.

During the first wave of COVID-19; Attendance Management stages and levels were paused between March to September 2020. The Attendance Management policy has re-commenced with effect of the 1^st October 2020. Staff who triggered under the policy from March 2020 onwards will be managed retrospectively under the policy.

Staff who have triggered Stage or Level 1 or 2 during March – September 2020

Due to the volume of staff who triggered Stage/Level 1 or 2 since March 2020, staff will be advised by letter that they are being managed. Staff do have the right to request a meeting if they wish to discuss their absence further with their line manager. The date of this monitoring will be backdated to the date of their return from absence.

This will temporarily replace section 6.9.1 which advises that the meeting should be held within 6 weeks and the date of monitoring will begin from the date of the meeting

2. Stages or Levels that expired during COVID but a trigger/review should have happened prior to expiry.

Sickness review meetings will take place for staff who were absent and their absence triggered a review. The monitoring of this review will be backdated to the date they returned from sickness. This will temporarily replace section 6.9.1 which advises that the monitoring should begin from the date of the meeting

3. 52 week reviews – where monitoring periods were due to end during March – September

There is no change in this regard, as per section 6.9.7 of the Attendance Management Policy, sickness monitoring can be extended as per the policy.

4. Multiple absences that occurred during March – September which would have resulted in staff triggering more than one Stage/Level within the policy

All absences will be counted and staff will be placed on the appropriate Stage/Level that they would have progressed to had the “pause” not occurred.

Pay During Absences

NHS staff (including medical staff) will receive full pay for any sickness absence that is COVID-19 related. Full pay will also be received where staff are household isolating. The Trust is aware that staff are under increasing caring pressures, due in part to children being sent home from school to isolate if a child in the same bubble, class, year or even whole school has tested positive.

The Trust provides 3 days (22.5 hours) pro rata special leave in a rolling 12 month period, to support staff in such circumstances. Staff should be encouraged to use annual leave, time owing or work from home if they are able or change rotas/days in work to other days/times when alternative care for the dependant is available. In exceptional circumstances only if none of the above is possible up to further 7 days (52.5 hours) pro rata in a rolling 12 month period may be granted at management discretion. Please note this is not an entitlement and can be refused if e.g. annual leave could be used.

These days can be taken in a single spell or over separate occasions to the maximum of 10 days (75 hours) in total pro rata. Staff who have already had 3 days (22.5 hours) will have 7 (52.5) pro rata days remaining, but any carers leave previously taken as unpaid cannot be converted.

If/when this additional special leave has been exhausted and the staff member has no other possible cover for their caring commitments, staff will then need to use either annual leave, unpaid leave or arrange to work the time back within a 6 month period. Please see School Returners FAQs under Staff Info for further details.

Risk Assessments

All staff must complete a COVID Risk Assessment eForm, irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity and pre-existing conditions.

Staff members can complete the COVID Risk Assessment alone or in consultation with their line manager. Once the staff member has completed the Risk Assessment eForm, their line manager will be automatically notified. If the employee scores moderate or high risk, the line managers must then complete the PPE and Control Measures section and discuss whether there is any further support required and if necessary the line manager will draw up an action plan to support the staff member. If an employee scores high risk the assessment will be triaged by HR to assess if it needs to be sent to a Risk Assessment Panel which consists of HWWB, HR, Infection Prevention and the line manager for review and to discuss next steps.

If the employee’s work environment changes – such as a ward admitting COVID positive patients – or the employee’s health condition changes (such as they advise their line manager they are pregnant), an existing risk assessment should be reviewed and if necessary the current risk assessment should be updated.

Further information relating to Risk Assessments is available under Management Guidance: Staff Risk Assessments.

Working from Home

The Trust has developed Agile Working Guidance which you can access here: https://covid.sthk.nhs.uk/agile-working/

Self-Isolation or Household Isolation and how this affects annual leave

Where a staff member is required to self-isolate due to symptoms or isolate as part of a household and they have annual leave booked they should inform their line manager at the time of isolation starting that they have developed symptoms / are required to household isolate. In these cases annual leave will be credited back to their annual leave balance and alternative recording placed on the system (see questions regarding logging sickness absence and household isolation).

Annual Leave

Carryover of annual leave

At present the Trust is not asking staff to cancel annual leave and it is important that staff maintain their health and wellbeing. It is recognised that staff may have carried over annual leave or have time off in lieu from 2019/20 and that it may be difficult for staff to take their full entitlement of annual leave due to the pandemic, where this occurs the Trust will permit a carryover of 5 days leave into 2021/22. The Trust however encourages staff to take their full entitlement of annual leave during 2020/21 to ensure ongoing rest and recuperation.

Terms and conditions of Employment

To deal with workforce issues arising from COVID-19 a suite of guidance covering terms and conditions, health, safety and wellbeing and other workforce topics.

The details of all workforce guidance can be found here:

https://www.nhsemployers.org/covid19

Test and Trace

The National COVID Test and Trace was launched on 28 May 2020. Contact tracing is important to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to contain and stop outbreaks.

Visit the Test and Trace page for more information:
https://covid.sthk.nhs.uk/test-and-trace/

Further information relating to Risk Assessments is available under Management Guidance: Staff Risk Assessments.