Got sent home because of Covid

[Radiacal]

Hi, 2 days ago I told my manager that my Girlfriend has some symptoms and that I would like to get tested as they offer on sight tests and told them that I did have a little bit of a saw throat

They told me that I cannot be tested if I had any symptoms and told me to leave site immediately

I told them that I did not want to go on sick due to me already having a stage 1 warning which runs out in a couple of days and also been present at work throughout December which they offer a 500 pound bonus

Will that go down as sick and will I lose the bonus because they sent me home?

[lucgeo]

If you were presenting with classic symptoms of a sore throat, as was your girlfriend, why was the test refused, if they are available??
I am not aufay with the rules regarding Covid related sickness etc...that's what another poster may be able to answer more clearly...however...it was always the understanding that if a manager sends you home, then you are paid fully, and it should be a swaying factor in your favour regarding absence %.

If you do suffer a detriment regarding loss of bonus, or warning escalated, then I would certainly grievance it, as you were instructed to leave the site

[Morris999]

Depends if the tests are LTR or PCR.
It's my understanding that if you have symptoms then it's straight to a PCR , so if they are only doing LTR that would explain why they refused the test.

Any Covid tests/isolation are paid from day one and do not from part of the absence % unless you stay off after the 10 days.

As for the bonus, it would depend on the terms & conditions it was offered  under.
But if it was you had to attend every contracted shift in December then yes it looks like you may lose the bonus if you missed a contracted shift in December, even if it's the last day.

[forrestgimp]

My wife tested positive today, she used one of them lateral flo things for work (care worker) track and trace says she doesnt need a pcr test nor do I need to stay off work or isolate. She has to isolate for 5 days then take a test if its clear  she can go back to work.

I presume this is because both of us have had all 3 jabs.

No idea how it works for those unvaccinated.

[Redshoes]

Not vaccinated, you need to isolate.

[VladPutin]

Hi, 2 days ago I told my manager that my Girlfriend has some symptoms and that I would like to get tested as they offer on sight tests and told them that I did have a little bit of a saw throat

They told me that I cannot be tested if I had any symptoms and told me to leave site immediately

I told them that I did not want to go on sick due to me already having a stage 1 warning which runs out in a couple of days and also been present at work throughout December which they offer a 500 pound bonus

Will that go down as sick and will I lose the bonus because they sent me home?

Where the hell do you work that they were offering a £500 bonus for no absence during December? I haven't taken a sick day in five years, and all I got last month was some sweets from the single tub of Quality Street all fresh departments had to share between them. 

[oldfashionedplayer]

was the christmas temp recruitment bonus for DC's i think it applied to, if they joined in october it was £500, if they joined in november it was £250, but the conditions think were they had to have 0 sick days including covid ? something like that... lol.

[lucgeo]

Another claim for store staff V's DC pay
How they can award a bonus for non sickness for temps in DC's but ignore the stores is blatant!

The " one team, Tesco team" falls a bit flat there. No point having an abundance of sorters and drivers, to then have no people the other side to offload and fill the shelves. Oh yea...they have bully managers in stores, and GSM's chasing their bonus' all boils down to...USDAW V's UNITE 

[sunshineman]

I was off for a day as a i felt very rough. i was due to go in work the next day but then i tested myself twice and it came up with i have covid. I sent the results to my line manager but not heard anything. Feel very rough but not sure what the process is. Do i get paid for being off, even though struggling to move around, should i go to work like the government are saying. I am totally confused. I have been so careful and always wear a mask at work and i am fully vaccinated.

[oldfashionedplayer]

You will be paid from day 1 under covid absence policy, you aren't allowed to work while positive, it's actually deemed as misconduct if you go in while positive so do stay off and take care of yourself, raise a pay query when your back but a minimum of 5 days to be off, take a test on day 5 and if negative you can return on day 6.

[sunshineman]

thank you. I contacted my line manager and it took them two days to come back to me. Then after two days i got a reply and was told to phone up the duty manager. I phoned the duty manager and then they gave me an email address to send my test details to. a bit strange as it was just a group of numbers @tesco.com.  when you are feeling c**p, it seems a silly process to have to go through

[expressman77]

thank you. I contacted my line manager and it took them two days to come back to me. Then after two days i got a reply and was told to phone up the duty manager. I phoned the duty manager and then they gave me an email address to send my test details to. a bit strange as it was just a group of numbers @tesco.com.  when you are feeling c**p, it seems a silly process to have to go through

Is it still classed as misconduct when it's not actually a legal requirement to isolate anymore

[oldfashionedplayer]

Yes because it's company policy to isolate, therefore its misconduct for your terms and conditions if you don't adhere to it. I'd rather be off and paid to be honest than go into work and spread it and feel like c**p.

[sunshineman]

The government have said we have to live it with. In our store since the restrictions were removed, we have had more staff catch covid than through the pandemic. We have a lot of couples who work at Tesco together and what is strange is some of the men have caught it and their wives or partners have not so they are still at work and vice versa.

We are short staffed on many departments. My friend who also works at Tesco caught it a while back so his son told his workplace that was not Tesco that his parents who he lives with have caught it, so he will wear a mask at work just to protect others incase he is carrying it. He was shocked when his manager told him, if he catches it dont make it an excuse to stay off work, he must come into work, which is shocking.

[oldfashionedplayer]

yeah government stupidly says you have to live with it now, but the law for it is that if you do work for another company or if tesco did change their policy in regards to it, then anyone who is positive has to work AWAY from others as to not spread it as a safeguarding measure... Which ofcourse many companies won't do because.. you know.. companies and avoiding health and safety is the normality.

[sunshineman]

if you are still testing positive for Covid when can you return to work. it has been nearly two weeks now and I am still testing positive for Covid.  I feel much better than I was, I was hit hard with it.  I still have a bad cough, get tired, shortness of breath and chest pains.  But I feel well enough to go to work. I am worried if I do not return to work soon then I will get a warning, and also I am bored.

We are short staffed on our department as lots of people have been catching it and one person who caught it and was really bad with it has now gone off with stress due to being worried about catching it again.  So, I want to know if I am allowed to go back to work and if I am going to get in trouble for being positive for nearly two weeks.

If I am forced to stay off work and they wont let me back can anyone let me know how I stand on company sick pay.  I have been at Tesco for 15 years now.  I am just wondering what pay I get and how long. Just had a call with my GP and said to them I want to go back to work and they have said no, but I am bored.

[oldfashionedplayer]

You'll get paid full pay, if you've got sick pay left it comes out of your entitlement there paid from day 1, and if you run out you get it topped up, you can only return once its negative, only lateral will give you negative while PCR will continue to give PCR for a few months so just a case of waiting unfortunately, I remember at the start soem of ours were testing positive for about a month.

[Ibanez]

The above is wrong,you return after 10 days isolation whether positive or not,if you still feel your not well enough after 10 days you go on the sick and not covid sickness

[oldfashionedplayer]

you cannot return while positive, if you read policy, you must isolate... cause positive = transmissive, so you put others at risk, the whole point of the isolation process etc... so as stated in it, it comes under gross misconduct for allowing a colleague or coming into work while knowing your positive..

[spike_pkh]

Maximum 10 days off then you can return if feeling better, if not you go to regular sick

[Mrs sparrow]

You return to work after 10 ten days even if test is still positive.  The reason being that although you still have Covid, you are no longer infectious. Remember the reason for isolation is to protect other people. If you are still unwell, it is still important to stay home as you would with any other illness. That is classed as normal sick though unless you were hospitalized.

[sunshineman]

A friends son who works at a food factory has come down with it and feels rubbish. They contacted their manager to say they have tested positive and feel unwell. The manager has told them that they still need to come to work but needs to wear a mask. Tesco is looking after their staff and trying to stop it from spreading while other compnies are not interested

[lackofinterest]

so he won't feel unwell cos he's wearing a mask. k**b heads!!!

[sunshineman]

So, i am no longer testing positive although one day i did not test positive and the next day i did and then next day i did not, very strange. I had to go to the doctor as i feel lifeless and my cough will not go away and i have lower back pain, and when i walk a short distance it feels like i have walked a few miles. This stupid covid is strange. I want to return to work but i had to go to the doctor who wanted to sign me off for two months which i said no chance. She thinks i may have long covid which i feel is a silly statement for her to say. She says i am 100% not ready to go to work, so i agreed to a compromise that i will have a sicknot for 6 days and i will return to her for her to check me over again as i do not believe i am not well enough to return to work. She has arranged for me to have an x ray done for my chest pains, although i think this is a waste of time.

I am concerned about my job to be honest. It is ok for my doctor to say i am not fit to return to work but she does not have to pay my bills. How do i stand after being off ten days for covid. i have been a tesco for a long time. Am i only entitled to Statutory Sick Pay which is £99 per week, i think. Would love to hear some advice please.

I am worried about telling my line manager that my doctor does not want me to return to work

[Redshoes]

Sometimes, when people return to work too early it hinders recovery and they end up being off longer. I think you really need to follow medical advice. Your dr is concerned and wants you to have more tests, and who knows what an X-ray might show. We can't pretend to be dr but tests can often rule things out if they don't actually find something.
I do understand the financial side of things though. There is the employee assistance program and grocery aid. It's not much but it could help.
You could also have a phased return to work. You can come back on light duties and reduced hours. If you want to come back on reduced hours you can use holidays to make up your hours so you are on full pay. You can do this with either shorter shifts or less days, even both. I have had several colleagues come back like this. I suggest that they come in before coming back to work and that we sit down together and plan things out. It takes away some of the stress of coming back as the colleague is fully aware of what they are coming back to. The ideal is that the phased return lasts up to four weeks but the company would rather have you on a longer phased return than still be off so you can go beyond four weeks if needed. The idea is that you gradually build up your hours so you are back to full hours in four week but if you are heading in the right direction I don't see that being longer would be an issue.
You don't have to use your holidays but it's a good way to support someone so that they keep full pay. I would also suggest you look at your full annual holidays at the same time. Make sure that you have a week off booked for not long after you go back onto full hours and that they are spaced as evenly as they can be over the rest of the year. It helps knowing when your next holiday is due.