The mayors of the Liverpool and Manchester regions have today launched a new campaign for employees to still get paid when they are ordered to self-isolate under the Government's test and trace system.
Metro Mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, together with the Trades Union Congress (TUC), today revealed their 'Time Out to Help Out' project to help eradicate the financial burden of those told to isolate after coming into contact with someone with Covid-19.
The campaign said 37% of people who have recently tested positive have not given any contacts, leaving a "significant gap" in the numbers of people who should be self-isolating.
The mayors said that's because many fear losing pay if requested to self-isolate, and are unable to work from home.
Now, the mayors are calling for employees to still be paid their full normal wage if they are requested to self-isolate and are unable to work from home, with employers being able to claim that payment back from the Government.
There are a significant number of people who are being requested to self-isolate, with more than 22,000 contacts identified in Greater Manchester already.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “NHS Test and Trace will never work properly until all employees are supported to follow its requests. It’s right that everybody plays their part in helping to get Covid-19 under control.
"But what’s not right is forcing some of our workers – many doing the lowest paid jobs or self-employed – to make a choice between self-isolating or face a drastic loss of income. That’s why we’re proposing an alternative system that’s currently in place to make sure workers are paid fairly if they are requested to self-isolate.
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“Only by ending the pay penalty will we see the national NHS Test and Trace service reach everyone they need to, which is currently standing at 53% in Greater Manchester.”
At present, people are told to self-isolate for 14 days, for reasons such as having come into contact with anyone with coronavirus, or returning from a country on the quarantine list, such as Spain, Belgium or Andorra.
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Mayor Rotheram said: “A fully functioning track and trace system is our best hope of stopping the spread of the coronavirus and giving people the confidence to go about their lives safely. However, with no guarantee that their incomes will not be hit, millions of people - many who can’t work from home or are self-employed - will be dreading the idea of being asked to self-isolate.
“We cannot beat this virus by asking people to choose between putting food on the table or keeping their communities safe.
"People should be supported, not penalised, for doing the right thing and isolating at home. As the Government are right to want self-isolating to be seen as a national duty.
"But when performing other national duties like jury service, we do not expect people to be left destitute. This should be no different.”
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The campaign has been backed by Unison, GMB, Usdaw, Unite and CWU as well as businesses.
Lou Cordwell, co-chair of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “I’ve been speaking to businesses and they want to do the right thing by their employees.
"Many of them will be supporting the campaign for a fairer system to pay their staff properly. This health pandemic has devastated a lot of businesses and impacted on jobs and incomes.
"The business community don’t want to go back to normal; they want to go forward to better and that includes making sure workers are supported when they need to self-isolate.”
Frances O’Grady, TUC General Secretary, said: "We all want test and trace to work. But it's not viable to ask workers to self-isolate if that means they are plunged into financial hardship. Until ministers fix this problem, people will continue to struggle to follow official advice.
"Wherever possible, employers should do the right thing and pay workers their full pay. But the government must also ensure that every worker gets financial support. Too many- including the 2 million who currently don't qualify for sick pay, or the seven million only getting SSP – will not be able to afford to isolate.”