Coronavirus Q&A

As the coronavirus has spread and dominated the news, UNISON has received an increasing number of enquiries on what employers – and members – should do to minimise the risk of infection at this worrying time.

The issues and risks will vary depending on the sector you are working in, so UNISON has been proactive in negotiating jointly agreed advice in a number of sectors.

General advice on what coronavirus (COVID-19) is, how it is spread, and basic hygiene to minimise the spread of the disease is available from the Public Health England (PHE) Website

Basic hygiene includes:

• Washing your hands regularly, particularly after using the toilet, before eating and using public transport
• Keeping surfaces clean
• Avoiding unnecessary touching of eyes, nose and mouth particularly with unwashed hands
• Blowing your nose with disposable tissues and disposing of them in secure bins
• Avoiding unnecessarily close contact (under 2 metres) with those who may be infected.

What should workers do if they believe they may have the symptoms of, or have had close contact with someone who has had, COVID-19?

In either circumstance workers should be encouraged to self-isolate, and stay away from work. They should normally call NHS 111 for advice, except in an emergency, when they should ring 999.

Until a case is confirmed current advice is that the employer need not apply special restrictions or special control measures, and neither is there a need to close the workplace. The most up to date advice is available from the PHE website.

Can my employer make me self-isolate?

Yes, your employer can instruct you not to attend your workplace.

If I have to self-isolate will I be paid?

The secretary of state for health, Matt Hancock, has sent guidance to employers telling them staff who have been asked to self-isolate are entitled to take the time as sick leave.

Although this would be good practice, and has already been agreed for NHS staff and the majority of local government staff, this in itself does not guarantee that staff will get sick leave as a matter of course. Where there is uncertainty, branches should seek urgent discussions with their employer to ensure that staff are paid in full if they are asked to self-isolate.

In addition, those on zero hours contracts have no entitlement to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), unless they can demonstrate they have earned at least £118 per week from their employer. Many work with multiple employers therefore it is difficult to prove this is the case. UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis has written to the government calling on them to:

• Temporarily remove the £118 per week threshold regarding entitlement to SSP
• Pay SSP from day one of the isolation period
• Take immediate measures to ensure that anyone who self-isolates does not suffer financial detriment (branches should seek assurances from employers that staff will be paid in full, see above)
• Ensure that the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care work together to put these actions into effect through joint guidance.

Where staff are being paid under contractual sick pay, it is good practice to ensure that such absence is not counted towards any sickness absence policy triggers. This has been agreed for NHS staff and the majority of local government staff (ie those covered by National Joint Council Terms & Conditions. If your members are covered by local terms, please check with your local branch).

What should my employer do if a case of COVID-19 is confirmed – either member of staff or member of the public – in their workplaces?

They will be contacted by their local PHE Health Protection Team to discuss the case, identify people who have been in contact with them, and advise on any actions or precautions that should be taken.

What should I do if I am asked to deep clean a building that has had a confirmed case of COVID-19?

Your employer must carry out a full risk assessment that identifies all the specialist training, and the personal protective equipment (PPE ie masks, gloves etc) that you may require. It is important that any PPE is made to fit the intended wearer. Advice to staff cleaning in health care settings is available from the NHS Staff Council. See also UNISON general advice on managing hazardous substances.

What should UNISON branches do if cleaning or other services are contracted out to private companies?

Branches should ensure that contracted out staff receive the same protections and rights, as far as possible, as those employed directly. This may involve initiating discussions with the main employer as well as with the contractor to ensure a joined-up approach is taken for the benefit of both service users and staff.

Where can I find advice on caring for people who are suspected of, or who have, COVID-19?

Advice is available from the PHE website. NHS staff are encouraged to refer to NHS Staff Council advice.

Councils should be reminded that they still have a responsibility – even where care services have been contracted out.

Advice is available from the PHE website. NHS staff are encouraged to refer to NHS Staff Council advice.

Other advice

Advice to local government staff covered by National Joint Council (NJC) Terms & Conditions is available at the NJC website.

Guidance to staff working in educational settings, is available on the the PHE website.

Universities UK is providing updated advice for the higher education sector on the coronavirus on their webpages. UNISON is approaching the national employers asking for urgent discussions to develop more detailed advice for staff.

Staff working in Wales

Staff working in Scotland

Staff working in Northern Ireland.

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We all have a shared interest to combat coronavirus

Anyone watching the news at the moment is likely to be concerned about the impact of the coronavirus. Highly contagious, and spreading across the globe, I’m sure we’ve all wondered what we can do to keep ourselves and our families safe.

At this stage, we’re encouraging people to follow the best available advice – ensure that you wash your hands regularly and thoroughly with soap and water, carry tissues with you to catch any coughs or sneezes and avoid close contact with anyone who is unwell.

As the largest health union in the country, UNISON is already liaising with the NHS over what action is being taken to deal with the spread of coronavirus in the UK.

I know that NHS workers – and all of our union’s members providing vital public services – will want to do everything they can to minimise the impact, and I promise that you union will continue to do the same.

Employers and the government will also need to play their part, because good working practises can help slow the spread of contagious illness.

For example, those on zero-hours or precarious contracts simply can’t afford to self-isolate unless they receive sick pay. Low-paid workers – including those caring for some of the most vulnerable in our society – could be forced to choose between isolating themselves and paying their bills.

In our shared interest – caring for each other and keeping each other safe – the government should ensure that no-one is forced to make that choice.

Finally, I want to pay tribute to all our members across all our services working flat out to contain this virus and treating and caring for those affected.

I am proud you are all part of our union.

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Why we need allies more than ever

At the end of LGBT History month, UNISON has issued new guidance for those who want to act as ‘allies’ to LGBT+ people

The union’s efforts come in the light of increasingly disturbing figures that show a rise in discrimination against the LGBT+ community.

However, while the rate of prosecution has dropped from 20% to 8%, the number of homophobic attacks has doubled and the number of transphobic attacks has tripled.

The Home Office’s own hate crime statistics for 2018/19, released in October last year, also showed a 10% increase anti-LGBT attacks in England and Wales, compared to the previous year.

The UK’s specialist LGBT+ anti-violence charity, Galop has also issued a report – Hate Crime Report 2019: Attitudes to LGBT+ people in the UK – that makes sobering reading.

In his introduction to the report, Galop head of hate crime services, Nick Antjoule, stated: “Despite most people in this UK poll voicing support for LGBT+ people, a significant proportion still think we are dangerous, immoral or that we can be ‘cured’.

“More importantly, it offers a sobering reminder that progress achieved in recent decades can easily be reversed. Young people polled tended to hold more negative views toward LGBT+ people than other age groups.”

Specifically, the research found that one in five people described being LGBT+ as ‘immoral or against their beliefs’. Perhaps the finding of greatest concern is that this rose to one in four among 18-24-year olds – higher than in other age groups.

One in 10 people said that LGBT+ people were ‘dangerous’ to others; one in 10 people said that being LGBT+ could be ‘cured’.

Around three in five people were positive about having LGBT+ neighbours. One in five people showed reluctance to the idea of having LGB+ neighbours and more than one in four to having trans neighbours.

In its latest Online Hate Crime Report 2020, Galop found that:

• eight in 10 LGBT+ people had experienced online abuse;
• among those targeted, five in 10 had experienced online hate more than 20 times. One in 5 had experienced more than 100 incidents;
• six in 10 were threatened with physical violence, while four in 10 received death threats or threats of sexual violence.

The TUC has found that 68% of LGBT+ people in the UK have been sexually harassed at work: the rate is 37% in the general population. LGBT+ rights is very much a workplace issue.

Be an ally

Against this background, UNISON is not standing still. As part of our work, we’re helping to develop and encourage people to be allies – supportive friends – for their LGBT+ colleagues.

Allies are an important way to help ensure that LGBT+ people are not alone when challenging inequality or prejudice in the workplace.

Our latest guidance is specifically aimed at being an ally to bi+ people but we’ve also produced a guide to being an ally of trans people too.

And the union is now working on training for being an ally to LGBT+ people in general – watch out for more news on this.

Discover more – and access many more resources – at www.unison.org.uk/out and www.galop.org.uk

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Government must ensure coronavirus sick pay for all workers, says UNISON

The government must take emergency action to guarantee all staff statutory sick pay as soon as they self-isolate because of coronavirus fears, says UNISON today (Monday).

General secretary Dave Prentis has written to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Thérèse Coffey asking her to amend the rules so employers have to recognise the time off as sick leave and provide wages for workers from day one.

They must also pay them regardless of how much they earn or their type of job contract, he says.

It comes amid concerns that zero-hours staff who should be self-isolating will go into work out of fear they will be denied their earnings, says UNISON.

They include social care staff supporting some of the most vulnerable people in society, including the elderly and sick who are most at risk if they become infected.

An estimated 2m people currently do not earn enough to qualify for statutory sick pay, and UNISON warns many could lose earnings as a result of the Covid-19 situation unless rules are changed.

Anyone returning from affected countries such as Iran and Italy could be forced to stay away from work, along with those who have been in physical contact with infected individuals.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Employees on zero-hours or precarious contracts are already on low wages. They now face financial hardship if they have to self-isolate.

“The government must bring in emergency measures so these low-paid workers are protected financially, particularly those caring for the most vulnerable in society.

“It should be made compulsory for employers to give them sick pay, even if they’re not officially eligible.”

Notes to editors
– The government has said self-isolation from coronavirus counts as sick leave.
– Guidance from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) states it is good practice (but not mandatory) for employers to treat self-isolation as sick leave.
– Statutory sick pay is usually paid from the fourth day of sick leave. It is paid for up to 28 weeks at £94.25 a week. Self-employed workers are not entitled to sick pay, and staff currently have to earn at least £118 a week before they are eligible.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Sophie Goodchild T: 0207 121 5555 M: 07767 325595 E: s.goodchild@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes T: 0207 121 5255 M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

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‘We need to promote settled status scheme’

The UK care sector has 1.5 million people working in it and more than 100,000 unfilled vacancies, Hassan Ortega told the UNISON community service group conference in Cardiff at the weekend.

Around a quarter of a million of those jobs are held by non-UK nationals – with 115,000 of those workers being citizens of EU countries.

The new immigration bar outlined by home secretary Priti Patel in the week before the conference requires a minimum salary well above the care sector’s average for anyone coming to work in the UK, he told delegates.

Moving an emergency motion on promoting the EU settlement scheme to behalf of the service group executive, Mr Ortega warned delegates: “Britain is going to miss out on key staff.”

Conference welcomed UNISON’s initiative in working with the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants to provide a free immigration helpline for members.

But it noted that many EU nationals have not yet applied for EU settled status under the government’s scheme and they need to do so by the end of this year.

It agreed to work with the rest of the union to promote the scheme and work with political parties across the UK to “secure the rights of UNISON members who are EU27 citizens delivering public services in the UK”.

UNISON settled status guidance for members

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‘We are in the business of protecting the most vulnerable people’

It is worrying that the number of health and safety reps in workplaces nationally keeps decreasing, North West delegate Gaynor Clarke told representatives of UNISON community workers gathered in Cardiff City Hall at the weekend.

Speaking to delegates at the union’s community service group conference, she added: “We need them in the community sector,” citing the ever-present risk of violence from vulnerable clients.

“We’re in the business of protecting the most vulnerable people,” she said, “and in our workplace that means our members.”

Introducing the service group’s annual report at the start of conference, chair Malcolm Gray had recalled work over the past year promoting the union’s Violence at Work charter which “has led to real improvements with employers committing to best practice”.

But there is still a lot of work to be done, conference agreed.

As Anjona Roy, speaking for the service group executive in the health and safety debate pointed out, the work done on the charter “is a tribute to our union”. But at the same time, “the red-top media attack on health and safety has been relentless, against a background of austerity, which is a political choice with chosen victims”.

Conference agreed and called on the union to continue promoting the value of health and safety and the importance of union health and safety reps.

Tackling racism in our workplaces

Conference agreed to work with employers and the union’s national Black members’ committee to identify best practice on tackling racism in the workplace and highlight successful measures to counter it.

As Judy Richards, representing the national Black members’ committee reminded delegates: “We live in a society in which good and bad exists in all forms and in all places.”

Moving the successful motion on behalf of the service group executive, Doreen Davies said that while “UNISON sees the continuing struggle for racial equality as a continuous priority, to many employers see it as yesterday’s business which they have tackled.”

Yet a UNISON survey of members working for community and voluntary organisations showed that three out of four reported feeling isolated, while two out of every five had experienced racial abuse.

Sleeping in, losing out

Delegates expressed their concern at the “shocking picture” painted in last year’s Sleeping In, Losing Out report, with staff suffering physical and verbal abuse while on overnight care shifts and many reporting that they are forced to use dirty mattresses and often have no washing facilities.

Conference vowed to continue campaigning for a care sector “which is adequately funded, helping to ensure care staff no longer have to experience the kind of shocking conditions outlined in the report”.

Speaking in support of the call, service group executive speaker Kevin Jackson referenced the recent Supreme Court hearing where UNISON appealed against a decision that staff-working sleep-in shifts are not covered by minimum wage legislation because the shift doesn’t count as work.

“How can you be allocated work, but not working?” he asked. “How can you have health and safety concerns about a sleep-in room, but not be at work? How can you be suspended from work for not turning up for a sleep-in shift, but not be working?”

Making it fair for social care

“The whole system of social care delivery is wrong, and so is the funding of it.” That was the bald statement from Hassan Ortega as conference discussed the funding of adult social care in the UK.

He pointed out that the ownership chains in the sector means that car providers are usually part of a group, itself owned by a hedge fund, whose own owners are hidden in the Cayman Islands and other tax havens.

And that means that £261 million of the income paid to the 126 largest care providers goes to pay off debt, owed to the hedge funds higher up the ownership chain, and £117m of that goes to offshore companies.

At the same time, care workers are struggling on low pay – sometimes less than the legal minimum wage. It is no wonder, he said, that staff turnover in the industry is at 31%, twice the average in the economy.

Francis O’Ryan from Gloucester added that “social care workers over the last 10 years have seen their salaries decrease in real terms while their workloads increased”.

Conference backed a call for a “vigorous” campaign to win proper investment, training, pay and value for members in social care.

Protecting the housing supply

Housing featured heavily on the conference agenda, particularly when it came to ensuring a supply of both affordable and socially provided homes.

Conference was meeting in a country which has already abolished the right to buy which moves collectively provided housing into private hands.

Speaking before the business of conference Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford pointed out that there are the same number of homes for rent in Cardiff as before Margaret Thatcher’s government introduced the right to buy in the 1980s. All that happened before this government ended the policy was that the homes moved from being socially rented into the privately rented sector.

Delegates called for a halt to government plans to extend the right-to-buy policy to housing association properties in England.

They also backed an emergency motion calling for a halt to recently announced Westminster proposals to divert money intended to provide affordable homes in England and instead use it to offer discounts on new properties for purchase in England.

While the government is consulting on the so-called ‘first homes’ proposals, Karl Lewis of the union’s housing associations branch warned: “You can’t take this money away from housing associations after slashing grants for a decade.”

And SGE speaker Mitsy Harmon-Russell told delegates that the proposals “will see money go to housebuilders, not into affordable homes and will just inflate house prices more”.

Community in the community

Conference urged community branches to work with community organisations in their local areas on campaigning issues.

Delegates particularly noted that Citizens UK has a proud history of working with UNISON and campaigning issues such as low pay, holiday entitlements and sick pay for vulnerable and casualised workers and “these are trade union issues,” as national executive council member John Gray noted.

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‘Thank you for your work dealing with floods’

“Before anything else, I want to thank you and, through you, all UNISON members who have played such an astonishing part here in Wales over the past two weeks to help us deal with the flooding.”

That was the message from Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford when he welcomed the union’s community conference and seminar to Cardiff this weekend.

“The reaction of public service workers has been absolutely astounding.”

Many delegates and visitors had experienced a hint of what effect that had when flooding in Pontrypridd and Bridgend disrupted their travel to Cardiff on Friday.

South Wales Police declared a critical incident as storm Jorge hit the area over the weekend.

But the effect of flooding is not a one-day experience, said the first minister. And UNISON members will be there helping people put their lives back together long after the waters receded, he acknowledged.

“So for everything you do – and everything you and the organisations you represent will go on doing,” Mr Drakeford told his audience of housing, community and voluntary organisation workers: “Thank you. I want you to know you appreciated by the Welsh government.”

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