Coronavirus Hub

COVID-19: updated ACAS guidance

ACAS has updated its coronavirus guidance for employers and employees.

Redundancy and the duty to consider furlough

An employee made redundant in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic was unfairly dismissed because her employer hadn’t considered furloughing her as an alternative to redundancy.

Calculation of furlough pay and CJRS

An employee’s furlough pay can be calculated in accordance with the terms agreed upon by the employer and employee through a variation in the employee’s contractual terms. The formula set out in the Treasury Directions governing the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was not mandatory for employers to use and did not supersede existing employment law rights and obligations.

COVID-19: dismissal for refusal to return to work

An employee dismissed for leaving work and refusing to return because of COVID-19-related concerns was not automatically unfairly dismissed.

COVID-19: long COVID and disability

An employee with long COVID symptoms was ‘disabled’ for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.

COVID-19: redundancy, furlough, consultation, and Facebook

A complete lack of any consultation or selection process, allied to notifying staff of redundancies via a Facebook post, led to unfair dismissal.

End of COVID-19 restrictions and the return to the workplace

With almost all COVID-19 restrictions lifted or about to be lifted, we look at how employers should approach the return to the office.

SSP rebate scheme closure

The Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme closes for COVID-19-related absences after 17 March 2022.

COVID-19: dismissal for refusal to be vaccinated

The dismissal of a care home employee for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 was fair.

COVID-19: whistleblowing

The dismissal of an employee was automatically unfair because she had made protected disclosures (whistleblowing) relating to her employer’s lax and inadequate implementation of their own COVID-19 protocols at her workplace during the early part of the pandemic.

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