In response to the uproar from both businesses and individuals, updates were recently made to the NHS COVID-19 app, and alerts have since dropped by 43%. Meanwhile, changes to the rules which will exempt double-jabbed individuals from self-isolating (provided they produce a negative PCR test) are already filtering through the UK (7 August in Wales, 9 August in Scotland and 16 August in England).

So, is this the end of the problem for manufacturers? In a word, no. While in theory it will reduce the number of staff self-isolating, employers will now face a potentially more complex problem: confirming whether employees have in fact been double jabbed or not. There are two ways this may cause issues in the months ahead.

First, you may have employees who are pinged by the app but who wish to come into work so that their pay isn’t penalised. They may tell you they are double-jabbed, but how do you prove this? If they are unwilling to provide evidence, do you just take their word for it and allow them to work anyway, potentially exposing others to the virus?

On the flip side, you may have employees who seek to exploit the pingdemic for some extra time off, so tell you that they are not double-jabbed and therefore need to stay off work. In this scenario, whilst it is impossible to prove that someone hasn’t been vaccinated, it could be that employers may look to take disciplinary action against any employee who claims that they are required to self-isolate as a result of not being double vaccinated if this is subsequently proven to be untrue or evidence comes to light of them being ‘out and about’ during this period.

Asking employees for proof of their vaccination status is a tricky issue and one that we know has been on employers’ minds long before the pingdemic occurred for the sake of workplace safety in general.

Our stance up until this point, in the context of employer’s monitoring vaccination status generally, has been that employers can ask but employees can refuse. However, whilst still legally untested and uncertain, in the limited context of seeking to ascertain double vaccination status (and a negative PCR test) for employees who would otherwise be required to self-isolate, there may be more scope for employers to require this proof. 

This does then raise tricky and, again, untested questions as to what can be done should an employee refuse to provide this proof, our initial thoughts being that an employer could refuse to allow their attendance at the workplace for the 10 day self-isolation period in the interests of protecting the health and safety of others within the workplace. The question is then what pay (full pay or SSP), if any, the individual would be due. We would hope to receive clarity on this issue as the new regime comes into play.

As always, we’re monitoring the situation closely and would be happy to advise you on your specific situation.