Not a jolly holiday…

A number of EU destinations have quarantine periods for when people return to Blighty. At the moment these include Spain, France, Malta and The Netherlands, 
to name a few.

what can employers do if employees are unable to return to work after their holiday? 

Unfortunately for employees, if they choose to go on holiday and they know that there might be restrictions on the return, then it’s up to the employee to take that risk.

For employees who can work from home, this isn’t a problem but for anyone who needs to be present in an office, factory, warehouse etc, then the choices they are left with are;

• Take further holiday to cover the quarantine period (if the organisation allows taking further Annual leave)
• Take unpaid leave for the quarantine period 

A lot of employees may argue that it should be paid but the employer is not required to pay if the employee has chosen to go away knowing that they would need to quarantine on their return. 

Which workers are exempt from quarantine?

There are a number of people who are exempt, regardless of their country of origin, including:

• Road haulage and freight workers
• Medical and care professionals providing essential healthcare
• Seasonal agricultural workers if they self-isolate where they are working
• UK residents who ordinarily travel overseas at least once a week for work

Please contact DLP for any further advice regarding quarantine periods etc.