12 week shielding letter - when do I go back to work?

calcotti

sharpe106 said:

only_me_123 said:

I see, @Grumpy_chap
My letter also said not to leave the house unless it is for medication. 
I'm just wondering when exactly I need to go back to work and who makes that decision - me, the government or the employer 

You make that decision, but that does not mean they have to pay you for the 12 weeks. 

OP is entitled to SSP as a minimum.

ItchyCat

sharpe106 said:

Unless they have a vaccine by then, which is extremely unlikely, what would have changed for those shielding by then? So I can't see how the advice will change. They will just have to extend it. What they may do is change the criteria as they sent letter to everybody that may be vulnerable. Now they will know which groups are more so then others. 

I have no idea what might change. I was just suggesting to OP that I would count the 12 weeks from when they started shielding rather than from the date on the letter. 

calcotti

sharpe106 said: Unless they have a vaccine by then, which is extremely unlikely, what would have changed for those shielding by then? So I can't see how the advice will change. They will just have to extend it. What they may do is change the criteria as they sent letter to everybody that may be vulnerable. Now they will know which groups are more so then others. 

Exactly my view. It’s a very depressing prospect. I have not been following the shielding advice rigidly but am taking what I consider to be a measured approach. At the moment it is possible to go for a walk and maintain the necessary distance because traffic is light and it is easy to step into the road if necessary. However as the lockdown is eased this will undoubtedly become more difficult and I fear that I will be more restricted as the lockdown eases rather than less.

Grumpy_chap

It does not apply to her, but my Mum's letter includes a paragraph saying "This letter is evidence, for your employer, to show that you cannot work outside the home.  You do not need to get a fit note from your GP."  It also includes "The safest course of action is for you to stay at home at all times and avoid all face-to-face contact for at least twelve weeks from today..."

I assume most employers seeing this letter will take the date as 12-weeks from the date of the letter, which is harsh if you have already done 6 weeks before the letter was sent (but what will change in another 6 weeks?).  The employer may have three options:

1. allow you to work from home if possible
2. furlough
3. SSP (or employers sick pay if better)

Trouble with these, maybe apart from work from home and your productivity is high (as determined by your employer), is whether it has an impact on you still having a job.  If you are not confident that you are in the groups needing shielding, it is certainly worth verifying that with your GP before raising with your employer.  

I can't think of any precedent where people have been allowed to take a long period off work just in case they get ill.  I was off for an extended period of illness back in 2015 and found I was "redundant" once my medical consultant allowed me back to work.

Hasbeen

My letter states: "The safest course of action is for you to stay at home at all times and avoid face to face contact for at least twelve weeks from today" Letter dates 03/04/2020.

The letter starts with "IMPORTANT ADVICE"
So is it a law stopping people from working?

sharpe106

As far as I am aware shielding is optional not the law. Not heard of anybody being fined for breaching shielding, although granted not really looked.  

calcotti

Hasbeen said:

My letter states: "The safest course of action is for you to stay at home at all times and avoid face to face contact for at least twelve weeks from today" Letter dates 03/04/2020.

The letter starts with "IMPORTANT ADVICE"
So is it a law stopping people from working?

As it says "The safest course of action". It is not the law. "IMPORTANT ADVICE" is not a legal imposition. 

Indeed the government advice https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19 says:

Shielding is for your personal protection. It’s your choice to decide whether to follow the measures we advise.
For example, if you have a terminal illness, or have been given a prognosis of less than 6 months to live, or have some other special circumstances, you may decide not to undertake shielding.
This will be a deeply personal decision. We advise calling your GP or specialist to discuss this.

KxMx

There is also no advisory for a whole household to shield when one person has been advised to. 

I can understand why a family may choose otherwise, but it's not the official advice. 

neilmcl

only_me_123 said:

I see, @Grumpy_chap
My letter also said not to leave the house unless it is for medication. 
I'm just wondering when exactly I need to go back to work and who makes that decision - me, the government or the employer 

Well ultimately the final decision is on you. If you don't want to self-isolate and potentially risk your life then that'es entirely up to you. Consider yourself lucky to be on furlough, a lot of employers could have simply allowed you to go on sick leave which is what will probably happen if your employer cancels your furlough.

Fire_Fox

Grumpy_chap said:

i am surprised and have virtually the same question as my Mum received a shielding letter on Friday this week (1st May - dated 28th April), which sort of implied she needed to stay in for 12 weeks from then.  She has already done 6 weeks of near-virtual lock-down.  Is it reasonable that these shielding letters have taken so long to print and send?  Surely, if my Mum was that vulnerable, she would have suffered in the first 6 weeks before the letter arrived???

We have found that, even without the shielding letters, both Mum and Mother-in-Law have been absolutely terrified and not going out anyway, but they then get lonely and down-in-the-dumps, so it does not do their overall well-being that much good.  We have been suggesting it is good for them to just get a stroll round the block at a quiet time for some excercise and fresh-air and to preserve their sanity.

Identification has been the limiting step, not printing and sending of letters.

The powers-that-be were aware the initial list of those needing to 'shield' would be imperfect/ incomplete. So GPs (family doctors) were asked to manually trawl through their list of registered patients and add in anyone that did not get flagged up by the initial national search of NHS records.

In practice for many people there is not that much difference between 'shielding' and strictly adhering to the 'stay at home'/ hand hygiene/ 'social distancing' rules.

Your mother and mother-in-law are very fortunate to have people around them that are looking after their mental wellbeing. Continue to encourage them to be physically active on a daily basis, to get enough sunlight for vitamin D3, to practice stress management or relaxation techniques, to meet or exceed ALL our official healthy eating guidelines (very few know what these are). Meal planning and cooking can be time consuming ... in a good way! The two ladies might even work together on this.

These are proactive steps towards a strong immune system as well as mental health - once they get 'on board' many find this element of self-control enormously helpful in a world of uncertainty and turbulence. 

HTH!