(This blog post covers some of the key legislation & guidance issued between 16th September– 30th October, 2020)
Ireland
The Health and Safety Authority has published Guidance on Working from Home for Employers and Employees; attached to this Guidance is a homeworking risk assessment and checklist to assist organisations in the safe management of homeworking. Moreover, the Government of Ireland has published a Remote Working Checklist For Employers.
United Kingdom
The Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Funding of Employers’ Liabilities) (Amendment) Regulations and the Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Funding of Employers’ Liabilities) (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020 No. 1030) amend the Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Funding of Employers’ Liabilities) Regulations 2020, which applies in England, Wales and Scotland and the Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Funding of Employers’ Liabilities) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020 to ensure employers can continue to access support with the costs of paying eligible Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) to their employees.
The Health and Safety Executive has published guidance on “Protecting vulnerable workers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic“.
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020 No. 1045) requires people who have been notified that they have tested positive for Covid-19 and their close contacts to self-isolate for designated periods based on when an infected person’s symptoms began, when an infected person took their test for Covid-19 or when close contact with an infected person took place. It requires people who are notified that they must self-isolate and to provide information to contact tracers about where they will be staying for their period of self-isolation.
The Human Medicines (Coronavirus and Influenza) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020 No. 1125) amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, which govern the arrangements, across the United Kingdom, for the licensing, manufacture, wholesale dealing and sale or supply of medicines for human use. The Regulations allow for the expansion of workforce able to administer COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.
The National Health Service (Charges and Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020 No. 1126) amends the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015 No. 570) to allow the supply of influenza and Covid-19 vaccines to all eligible patients free of prescription charges, including when these are supplied under the new “national immunisation protocols”.
Scotland
The Feed-in Tariffs (Amendment) (Coronavirus) (No. 2) Order 2020 (SI 2020 No. 957) extends the deadlines by which applications for accreditation can be made for certain eligible installations under the Feed-in Tariffs Order 2012.
The Marine Works and Marine Licensing (Miscellaneous Temporary Modifications) (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 (SSI 2020 No. 157) make temporary modifications to the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 and the Marine Licensing (Pre-application Consultation) (Scotland) Regulations 2013. The modifications made by these Regulations are necessary as a result of coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)). These modifications alter requirements to make information or documentation available electronically.
The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Additional Temporary Measures) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2020 (SSI 2020 No. 325) provide that face coverings must be worn in workplace canteens and when in indoor communal areas in workplaces, unless an exemption applies. It is an offence to fail to wear a face covering when in an indoor communal area in a workplace, where no exceptions apply.