Tesco Covid Update Jan 2024

[Loki]

Despite strong disagreement from Usdaw, Tesco have informed the Union of their changed approach to what colleagues should do where they test positive for Covid, effective from Wednesday 24 January.

For some time, company policy has been that staff who test positive for Covid were required to stay off work for 5 days. The policy has now changed to the following:

'Where a colleague is diagnosed with one of the conditions listed [as a 'notifiable disease', which currently includes Covid], that they should follow the advice of their medical practitioner or Doctor regarding their suitability to attend work. Where the medical practitioner or Doctor advises that a colleague should not attend the workplace, the colleague must not work. This is treated as sickness absence and paid in the normal way, subject to a colleague's company sick pay allowance (including any unpaid waiting days where applicable).'

To state that the above change being downright irresponsible and grossly unfair would be an understatement.

[madness]

Everybody has been coming to work with covid for ages now. plenty have admitted it in our store.

[oldfashionedplayer]

Doctors will 99.9% time will say NOT to work though, if anything you just don't go in... it'd be a fun thing if they tried to get rid of you for it..

[.....1]

Seems a pretty pointless update really. If your ill weather its covid or not you can self certify for the first 7 days and most doctors wouldn't issue a sick note until after the 7 days.

[oldfashionedplayer]

i get that plenty have admitted it and whatnot but regardless of it, it's still something that many have suffered long term with after having .. so the "Removal of the requirement to not attend work when absent with a notifiable disease" - as listed - Is quite BS to be honest, they will have more people off instead of just a person keeping themselves off...

[1982dave]

Christ you had staff coming into work  in my store when you had to self isolate when you had Covid quite a few sadly and you had certain management kept these people in work and just moved them onto diff depts which caused uproar to say the least it's madness really  that now it's a ok come to work type thing don't forget there's plenty of elderly staff vulnerable staff still working ...

[Loki]

Basically if one has leprosy but is "feeling ok" then by all means come to work.

[Biscuit tin]

People having time off for Covid now are the same ones who'd have been off for a week with a sniffle before 2020.

[londoner83]

Who is even testing themselves these days? If you feel really rough go sick and speak to your GP,  if it's a minor sniffle come in and don't look for anything to justify you being at home.

[JJH]

People having time off for Covid now are the same ones who'd have been off for a week with a sniffle before 2020.

Probably get paid for the first three days too!

Who is even testing themselves these days? If you feel really rough go sick and speak to your GP,  if it's a minor sniffle come in and don't look for anything to justify you being at home.

Well said!

[grim up north]

There was someone who had 16 periods (2 weeks each) of sick for covid ('pinged' and close contact) and all of them was made up

[ImBackBaby]

'Where a colleague is diagnosed with one of the conditions listed [as a 'notifiable disease', which currently includes Covid], that they should follow the advice of their medical practitioner or Doctor regarding their suitability to attend work. Where the medical practitioner or Doctor advises that a colleague should not attend the workplace, the colleague must not work. This is treated as sickness absence and paid in the normal way, subject to a colleague's company sick pay allowance (including any unpaid waiting days where applicable).'

To state that the above change being downright irresponsible and grossly unfair would be an understatement.

All they are doing is following government advice that Covid is now being treated as any other illness and is not getting any special treatment. As people have said before, colleagues were already coming to work with covid or covid symptoms and people got on with it. Don't get angry at the company for doing what any other organisation out there is already doing.

[oldfashionedplayer]

You say that but If you literally search about covid, nhs site says to stay off and away from people, so doctors will just say the same.. All this means is that they want people to try and pester doctors who are impossible to get ahold of to begin with...

So covid = stay off

Not covid = work

Covid + feeling okay = have a brain and think, would you be happy someone giving it you or your baby etc? If so...then congrats.. You are quite heartless in my opinion.

[Loki]

Good point. They're pushing colleagues to contact an already crumbling NHS instead of leaving it as it was. Also their update also includes other notifiable diseases.

[penguin]

Most people who have symptoms of covid no longer self isolate anyway, I know its not a legal requirement anymore but the official advice is to try and stay at home if one has symptoms of covid or any other respiratory illness, however with most places not paying sick pay from day one and covid now managed as any other illness by most firms people have little choice but to just carry on as normal.

[oldfashionedplayer]

aye the company says "we put health first" and then wont pay from day 1 with it etc, just forcing people in more need to go "we need the money, i need to work"

[ExSMfloor]

Policy has been to come to work with Covid 'if you feel well enough' for MONTHS

[ExSMfloor]

Seems a pretty pointless update really. If your ill weather its covid or not you can self certify for the first 7 days and most doctors wouldn't issue a sick note until after the 7 days.

Very pointless. My store, amongst with the rest of the group have been following the April 2022 update which was to treat covid as normal sickness absence and as such everyone just came to work with it

[madness]

aye the company says "we put health first" and then wont pay from day 1 with it etc, just forcing people in more need to go "we need the money, i need to work"

Come on at Tesco with the average calibre of people there would be sick calls galore.

The first time around with covid when you did get paid for being off as no one could risk it ALL the usual suspects filled up the sick book straight away.

[Captain001]

Beggers believe that people still pat into that union . It'd time people stood up for themselfs. Usdaw only have their own intrest and nothing else .Time to leave them once their numbers drop maybe then they start to care.

[inthemix]

Old news.

"From Saturday 30 April 2022, confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases have been treated in line with our normal Sickness Absence Policy, which means that the absence will be paid subject to a colleague's Company Sick Pay allowance and normal waiting days will apply (in Work & Pay you would use the absence code Short Term – Cough/Cold/Sore Throat/Flu)."

[General Thorn]

aye the company says "we put health first" and then wont pay from day 1 with it etc, just forcing people in more need to go "we need the money, i need to work"

Come on at Tesco with the average calibre of people there would be sick calls galore.

The first time around with covid when you did get paid for being off as no one could risk it ALL the usual suspects filled up the sick book straight away.

why are you so insulting to Tesco workers? We are all employees of this terrible company and just trying to get by on paltry wages and bad workplace practices but you insist on inferring that we are all lazy shirkers.

I can honestly say that the store I work in did not have anyone taking time off with covid just because they fancied a wee holiday.  We now have people coming to work with covid because a) they do not want to let colleagues down in a store that is well understaffed and b) they won't get paid for 3 days and it will count towards their percentage which will trigger attendance reviews and they will be issued with warnings.

This has already happened with a few who have taken the time off.

[expresscoop]

I was forced to come into work WITH covid in jan 23 by the coop I work for (soon to be a tesco) My options where, stay off and get a written warning for absence, come to work with covid, of course I came into work and made it clear of the situation to all colleagues and customers who came near. After a long wait (7 hours) HR finally got back to the store saying I should leave the building immediately after my initial rant at them in the morning after feeling and looking like death all day.

Tesco are not the only employer who gives no f's about it staff. Infact the coop gave us all 4 weeks notice that our store is now owned by tesco and we can leave or transfer under tupe to tesco. No other choices.

[oldfashionedplayer]

aye the company says "we put health first" and then wont pay from day 1 with it etc, just forcing people in more need to go "we need the money, i need to work"

Come on at Tesco with the average calibre of people there would be sick calls galore.

The first time around with covid when you did get paid for being off as no one could risk it ALL the usual suspects filled up the sick book straight away.

oh your right, there probably would be with it, thats wht it was initially stopped from people abusing it, there will always be someone abusing something that ruins it for the genuine ones... know one of ours was off 7 times with it over a few months.. they clearly did abuse it as they went to weddings and birthday parties still, even managed to get a fine but didn't stop them..

it shouldn't be a case of lumping everyone in though with the few that do abuse it all, but the company can't go preaching they protect workers and put safety first and continuously invest in our safety against it all and then go and make everything more likely to get it.. removing checkout screens, removing hand sanitizer stations and masks etc while saying they "lost money spending on us still" - BS... give the stuff that they "did spend money on" back then.

[JJH]

I can honestly say that the store I work in did not have anyone taking time off with covid just because they fancied a wee holiday

Oh behave!