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32 Spring 2022 S ince February 24 th , people who test positive for Covid have no longer been legally required to self-isolate, although they are still advised to stay at home and avoid contact with others for five full days. Routine contact tracing has ended. This means that fully vaccinated close contacts and those under 18 are no longer required to test daily for seven days. The £500 self-isolation support payment for people on low incomes who test positive for Covid-19 is no longer available. Covid provisions for increased statutory sick pay (where SSP payments are made from day one of Covid related absences) ended in March. Workers are not legally obliged to tell their employers when they are required to self-isolate. Now that April 1 st has passed, free mass testing for the general public has also ended. People with Covid symptoms are being asked to exercise personal responsibility when deciding whether to stay at home. The Government is removing the requirement for employers to explicitly consider Covid-19 in their risk assessments and the existing ‘Working Safely’ guidance is being replaced with public health guidance. The Government has also lifted the majority of legal requirements for businesses and the intention is to empower businesses to take responsibility for implementing mitigations that are appropriate for their own individual circumstances. YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Can we still ask employees to isolate at home if they test positive, even though isolation is no longer a legal requirement? Employees are no longer required to notify their employer if they have tested positive for Covid-19. However, where employers are made aware of positive cases, it is still prudent to ensure measures are in place with a view of limiting the risk of spread to others. If the employer’s preference is that those who have tested positive for Covid-19 remain away from the The Prime Minister announced the end of Covid-19 restrictions in England, raising questions about how we, as employers, manage the virus risk in the workplace moving forwards. LIVING WITH COVID