Thousands have been unwell with covid-19, and many survivors are experiencing post-acute symptoms, including breathlessness, fatigue, headaches, concentration difficulties, and anxiety. For more information on the return to work see our flowchart staffing decisions when reopening workplaces and FAQs on staffing decisions when reopening workplaces. If you are unable to import citations, please contact It may be appropriate for these individuals to take up an alternative role or adjusted working patterns temporarily. Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable may be … The National Education Union (NEU) said it is not safe for clinically extremely vulnerable staff (CEV) to go to school and has urged headteachers to allow them to continue working from home. I have a particular focus in dealing with high level disputes in the employment ... On 1 August 2020 shielding was “paused” for the clinically extremely vulnerable – people with specific medical conditions which mean they are particularly at risk from Covid-19. Clinicians must take a holistic approach, recognising the wide range of clinical and social interventions that may be needed, particularly by … This article is made freely available for use in accordance with BMJ's website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. UK Government. Much emphasis has been placed on the psychological effect of returning to work after extended periods away, including employees’ fears of workplace transmission.8 Exploring and addressing these psychological barriers is critical during discussions with patients, particularly those who are clinically vulnerable Observational research from China suggests that organisational measures to reduce risk, including improved workplace hygiene, and employers who prioritise workers’ health are both associated with a lower risk of psychiatric symptoms among returning employees.18, In the UK, the task of assessing clinical vulnerability and supporting millions of people anxious about returning to work is likely to fall to general practitioners (GPs) and occupational health specialists. Of those, 9.4 million employees were furloughed (mandatory suspension supported financially by government) and 2.6 million self-employed people were claiming financial support.1 Some were in vulnerable groups that required “shielding” at home. This guidance also suggests that they may be able to take up an alternative role or change working patterns temporarily. Widespread unemployment would be worse for population health than covid -19. Clinically vulnerable people who cannot work from home can currently return to work but must take extra care with social distancing. The clinically extremely vulnerable can now return to work – or can they? Over half of adults stop working—often for health reasons 67—between the age of 50 and statutory retirement age. Previous government guidance said they should be “offered the option of the safest available on-site roles” which enable them to stay the requisite two metres (or one metre with risk mitigation where two metres is not viable) from others. If you don’t get a shielding letter after 2 December 2020, the government say you can go to work if you can’t work from home and your workplace is safe enough. I don't think you can defer it for any longer. Everyone in England, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, is required to follow the national restrictions from 5 November until 2 December. They also have specific information about clinically vulnerable individuals being helped to work from home (e.g. The national lockdown ends on December 2, … We do not capture any email address. The covid-19 pandemic has seen record numbers of people off work. 370, p. - September 30, 2020, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-statistics-july-2020/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-statistics-july-2020#main-points, https://www.aomrc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Good_work_is_good_for_you_summary_0519.pdf, https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/september2020#main-points, https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/avoiding-the-demographic-crunch-labour-supply-and-ageing-workforce_tcm18-10235.pdf, https://www.som.org.uk/sites/som.org.uk/files/Occupational_health_the_value_proposition_0.pdf, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3557504, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/updates, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust: Consultant in Stroke Medicine, Practice Plus Group: General Practitioner, Rush Hill & Weston Surgeries: Salaried GP, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust: Consultant Psychiatry, Women’s, children’s & adolescents’ health. Individuals were selected for shielding based on routinely collected health data and single diagnoses and treatments. Shielding from covid-19 should be stratified by risk, Assessment of workers’ personal vulnerability to covid-19 using ‘covid-age’, Factors associated with COVID-19-related death using OpenSAFELY, Challenges of “return to work” in an ongoing pandemic, Occupational risks for COVID-19 infection, Meat plants—a new front line in the covid-19 pandemic, Is returning to work during the COVID-19 pandemic stressful? Most of the guides also say that “particular attention” should be paid to people who live with clinically extremely vulnerable individuals. This guidance also suggests that they may be able to take up an alternative role or change working patterns temporarily. The government's advice is that anyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable should work from home if they can during the national lockdown in England (from 5 November 2020). guidance on working safely during coronavirus. Created with sketchtool. Thakrar S. Promoting work as a health outcome: Summary of the conference Good work is good for you. Copyright © 2020 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd     京ICP备15042040号-3, , honorary professor of occupational medicine, The epidemiology of multimorbidity in primary care: a retrospective cohort study. The clinically extremely vulnerable should work from home wherever possible. those over 70 or with certain health conditions) which does not appear in the other guides. Created with sketchtool. 03 August 2020. If a staff member who is clinically vulnerable chooses to return to the work place, they should only be asked to work in roles where strict social distancing can be applied. You may use, download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained. The deconditioning effects of not working include obesity, declining physical and cognitive fitness, and worsening mental ill health.3 The importance of work as a health outcome has been highlighted,4 and the longer someone is off work, the less likely they are to return.3 Almost 700 000 jobs have disappeared to date in the UK, with many more people facing long term unemployment and associated debt.5, Complicating the situation, is our ageing population and workforce. From 1 August the clinically extremely vulnerable no longer need to “shield” due to the risk of Covid-19, and can potentially return to work. There is no obvious reason why these sectors should have different guidance which does not fit with the general guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable. The financial, social, and health consequences of large numbers of people not returning to work could be devastating. It is also important to note that shielding may be re-started for some or all clinically extremely vulnerable individuals if levels of infection rise again, which is already happening in some parts of the country. If not, it is confusing to have retained old guidance for these sectors without a clear explanation of the reason. Sadie789 Sun 10-May-20 19:57:35. CIPD. It is essential to help clinically vulnerable people get back to work, whether that be homeworking or in their workplaces. The government’s guidance on working safely during coronavirus has also been updated. People who are ‘shielding’ will be able to return to the workplace from 1 August, health secretary Matt Hancock has said. There is some general advice for everyone at high risk, as well as extra advice depending on where you live. A recent BMJ editorial suggested a personalised approach to managing risk of covid-19 and risk of poor outcomes.11 The concept is already being used in occupational health to inform a safe return to work.12 Based on the findings from the OpenSAFELY study,13 the Covid-age tool converts individual demographic and clinical risk factors—such as sex, ethnicity, diabetes, or asthma—into a number of years.12 These are added to (or subtracted from) a person’s age to give a “covid age,” indicating a person’s risk of developing severe covid-19 relative to a healthy white man of the same age. “you can go to work as long as the workplace is Covid-secure, but should carry on working from home wherever possible”. The short answer is: yes. On the face of it, the government expects all previously shielding teachers and school staff to return because "the risks to all staff will be mitigated significantly, including those who are extremely clinically vulnerable and clinically vulnerable." No further information is provided on what this means in practice, but employers should be sensitive to workers in this situation by offering home working or the safest available roles, and assess in discussion with the worker what is an acceptable level of risk. Five guides simply contain the same wording as prior to 1 August, and it appears they have not been updated at all (heritage locations, hotels and other guest accommodation, performing arts, providers of grassroots sport and gym/leisure facilities, and the visitor economy). The protections of sections 44 and 100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 are even more likely to apply if you are clinically extremely vulnerable. The majority of the guides provide the following advice: This seems relatively clear – home working if possible, and otherwise as safe a return to work as can be arranged, which may involve temporary changes to roles or working patterns. It may be an updating error, in which case hopefully it will be corrected soon. Clinically vulnerable teachers and school staff should work from home – NEU Clinically vulnerable teachers and school staff should work from home - NEU (PA Wire) By The Newsroom . If you're at high risk (clinically extremely vulnerable) from coronavirus (COVID-19), there are things you can do to help keep yourself safe. Since August, clinically extremely vulnerable workers can return to their workplace as long as it is COVID-secure but should carry on working from home wherever possible. Unfortunately, at the time of writing it appears that not all of the guides have been amended correctly. A study on immediate mental health status and psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures of Chinese workforce, Challenges and opportunities for occupational health and safety after the COVID-19 lockdowns, honorary professor of occupational medicine, Safely returning clinically vulnerable people to work, Correction for vol. Of course not. Opening the workplace after covid-19: what lessons can be learned from return-to-work research? Otherwise, they can now return if Covid-secure guidelines are in place, but they should be offered the option of the safest available on-site roles, enabling them to maintain social distancing guidelines (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable). It means extremely clinically vulnerable people will have to weigh up the risks of using public transport if that's the only way they can get to work. Clinically vulnerable individuals are being encouraged to return back to work and school from next week. Population-based estimates of healthy working life expectancy in England at age 50 years: analysis of data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Fernandes N. Economic effects of coronavirus outbreak (covid-19) on the world economy, 22 March 2020. The guides for close contact services, construction and other outdoor work, contain the alternative sentence, “it may not be appropriate for clinically extremely vulnerable individuals to take up an alternative role or adjusted working patterns temporarily” [our emphasis]. When the second national lockdown came into force, extremely vulnerable school staff were advised to work from home. The guides for close contact services, construction and other outdoor work, contain the alternative sentence, “it may, For more information on the return to work see our flowchart, staffing decisions when reopening workplaces, This website uses cookies for a range of purposes. Forcing you to return to work could potentially be a breach of your employer’s duty to protect your health and safety, as although shielding has been paused, you remain clinically extremely vulnerable. NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. In England, the advice is to stay two metres away from any clinically extremely vulnerable person you live with (this applies whether or not you go to work). I advise on many areas of employment and partnership law. The DfE advises that employees in the clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) group, in other clinically vulnerable (CV) groups (including pregnant women), and in other higher risk groups can all return to school safely, provided that their school has implemented and explained the system of protective measures and controls set out in the DfE advice (in particular on hygiene, contact and social … The government’s, guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable. If you haven’t got a letter but think you should because you’re in a tier 3 area, ask your GP or hospital clinician. However, some of the guides contain different wording. Competing interests: We have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and have no relevant interests to declare. Lots of them will be getting phone calls from their managers tonight telling them to return to work tomorrow. The 14 guides on different types of workplace each contain a section on “Protecting people who are at higher risk”, which deals with the clinically extremely vulnerable. Some of these anomalies in the guidance may be corrected shortly. For clinically vulnerable employees who cannot work from home, they can be required to return to work. Under current Government guidelines, if people cannot work from home, they should not attend work. However, it is important that you carry out a risk assessment and implement steps to reduce the risk faced by these employees. We think this is a typographical error and the word “not” should be disregarded. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. have been classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, based on clinical judgement and an assessment of your needs; Information: If you're at high risk from coronavirus, you should have received a letter from the NHS. Information for protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable from COVID-19. They still refer to the clinically extremely vulnerable being advised not to work outside the home if the prevalence of disease in the community is very high. They are able to add people to the shielding patient list if it is clinically appropriate to do so. Clinically vulnerable teachers and school staff should work from home - NEU 0 comment Teachers and school staff who are most at risk from coronavirus should not return to the classroom next week when England’s national lockdown ends, a leading union has said. I would say that leaves the clinically vulnerable group amongst school staff as needing to be prepared to return September, if not before. Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. In places where there is a very high risk from coronavirus, you may get a letter advising you to follow stricter advice. It seems strange to have this sentence in guidance intended to assist with a return to work and there is no obvious reason why this should be different from the majority of the other guides. Around 33 million were working before the covid-19 crisis. But GPs will have to do the heavy lifting as only 50% of the working population have access to occupational health services.9 There is a strong economic case for improving access to occupational health, as bridging the health and workplace divide will help reduce the health effects of a recession.19. 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