Long COVID, also known as ‘post-COVID-19 syndrome’ or ‘long-tail COVID’, is a condition where those who have previously suffered from COVID-19 experience symptoms that can last for several weeks or even months after the actual infection.
Common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, brain fog, insomnia, heart palpitations, dizziness, joint pain, depression and anxiety, sickness, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite, coughs, headaches, sore throat and rashes. The Office for National Statistics estimates that over one million people have reported experiencing long COVID.
This can often affect someone’s ability to work or cause them to take sickness absence. In these cases, the normal procedures for sick pay and absence through illness apply. However, because of the way long COVID presents, the symptoms are inconsistent. On some days, an affected person could be fine, but on other days, the symptoms can suddenly worsen.
Acas has published advice for employers and workers in response to the growing impact of long COVID in the workplace, which suggests that upon diagnosis, employers and workers should discuss the potential impacts of long COVID as early as possible and work together to find ways to support sufferers.
It’s important that employers and businesses understand that when someone is off sick, they might feel isolated, or need support to return to employment. Employers should therefore make sure they have a plan for getting in touch with the worker when they are absent.
It’s also a good idea to ensure their workload is shared out between other team members as far as possible to make sure they don’t have an intimidating backlog of tasks building up while they are ill.
Once they are well enough to consider a return to work, employers should think about how they can support the worker’s return. This may include making a phased return to work, adjusting how the employee works (such as remote working or different hours) or getting an occupational health assessment.
If an employee is struggling to do their job or is taking a lot of absence, employers should see if they can do anything to help. Employers should also be aware that if they dismiss an employee without first carrying out a full and fair disciplinary or capability procedure, the employee could make a claim of unfair dismissal. Employers should also be careful to not discriminate – the best advice is to therefore focus on the reasonable adjustments that can be made to support the sufferer.
At Nalders Solicitors in Cornwall, we have a team of dedicated specialists in employment law, all of whom are on hand to help advise on any employment contracts and commercial arrangements that you are dealing with.
Contact Dale Band, Gayle McDermott, Lee Middleton or Luke Smith to discuss further on 01872 241414.