Holidays and Travel Self Quarantine

James Williams

As you may be aware, from 8 June 2020 the UK introduced the requirement to self-isolate for 14 days upon return from most overseas travel destinations. The government have published a list of exemptions from quarantine.

All arriving passengers will be required to complete a form to provide contact and travel information so they can be contacted if they, or someone they may have been in contact with develops the virus. Passengers may be contacted regularly throughout the 14 day period to ensure compliance.

The requirement is mandatory, and a breach of self-isolation would be punishable with a £1,000 fixed penalty notice in England or potential prosecution and unlimited fine.

Consequently, it is possible this may have an impact on your employees who have pre-booked holidays or are considering booking a holiday overseas. Employees who travel abroad (including holidays) will need to be absent from work for two weeks on their return unless their role is suitable for working from home.

It is advisable to ask your employees if they have any holidays pre-booked and then you can assess if they will need to quarantine and what / if any impact this may have on your organisation. For schools and colleges, this is particularly important for staff who may have holidays booked in August and then required to self-isolate at the start of the new academic year.

Attached is draft wording which you can send to your staff to request any information relating to their holiday plans.

If you have any questions regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Draft e-mail for staff – please click here.

 

James Williams – Solicitor

James Williams

I am a qualified Employment Law and HR Solicitor. I specialise in acting for schools and advise on all aspects of employment law and HR including attending employee meetings, advising senior leaders, conducting redundancy consultations, drafting contracts of employment, advising on policies and procedures and negotiating settlement agreements.