Classification of Covid-19 as an occupational disease
[ch 11: page 167]Unions and the TUC are calling for Covid to be classified as an occupational disease. This is also a trade union demand at international level.
In the UK, the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) is considering this recommendation. If the government accepts it, the TUC explains, workers with long-term physical conditions caused by Covid could receive Industrial Injuries Disability Benefit — currently worth up to around £190 a week. It would also strengthen the case of workers seeking financial compensation for long Covid (see page 168) after becoming infected at work.
In order to make the recommendation, the IIAC must prove that it is more likely than not that the infection was caught as a result of being at work. In a March 2021 position paper, it concluded that there is a clear association between several occupations, including health and social care, nursing, bus and taxi driving, food processing, retail work, local and national administration and security, and increased risk of death from Covid-19. However, it said the evidence was “currently too limited in quality and quantity to justify prescription at this stage”.
While it concluded overall that the evidence was not at present sufficient for recommending prescription, it said that “evidence of a doubling of risk in several occupations indicated a pathway to potential prescription”.