Employees who cannot attend work due to health risks

There is no general statutory duty on employers to offer paid medical suspension to an employee who cannot work because their safety is threatened by coronavirus, or because they are self-isolating or in quarantine. The only exception is if they are pregnant, breastfeeding or a new mother (see below: paid maternity suspension).

The statutory right to medical suspension pay (section 64, ERA) cannot help members here, since it is limited to health risks due to lead, ionising radiation and substances covered by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, such as rubber and chemicals. It does not apply to risks caused by the pandemic.

Extremely vulnerable workers who cannot attend work because of a danger to health are likely to have rights under the Equality Act 2010. And workers who live with someone who is extremely vulnerable to the effects of the virus may have a claim based on associative disability discrimination (see Chapter 3).