7 min read
On 22 February the government published its roadmap out of the current COVID-19 lockdown. A 68 page COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021 is accompanied by a two page summary document.
The roadmap outlines four steps for easing restrictions. Progress to the next step will depend on an analysis of the data based on four tests; successful continuation of the vaccine programme, effectiveness of the vaccine in reducing hospitalisations and deaths; pressure on the NHS; and no new increased risk from new variants. There will be at least five weeks between each step, with the assessment taking place after four weeks and the government providing one week’s notice before making changes. The indicative, ‘no earlier than’ dates in the roadmap are all contingent on the data and subject to change. The roadmap envisages lifting restrictions across the whole of the UK at the same time. This suggests there will be no return of the local tiers, although the roadmap does acknowledge that “local intervention” may be needed if an area sees unmanageable virus growth or the NHS is at risk.
Step 1 will start on 8 March 2021. Pupils and students in all schools and Further Education settings will return to face-to-face education. There will also an easing of restrictions on leaving home, which will be permitted for recreation as well as exercise, with one other person from another household. Further changes on 29 March 2021 will allow people to meet outside in groups up to a maximum of six people or with one other household, and allow certain outdoor sports facilities to reopen.
Step 2 (no earlier than 12 April 2021) will involve greater re-opening of businesses, including all retail, personal care services, indoor leisure (including gyms) and hospitality (outdoor only).
Step 3 (no earlier than 17 May 2021) will allow all but the most high-risk sectors to reopen. This will include indoor hospitality and some large events such as conferences, theatre, concerts and sports events.
Step 4 (no earlier than 21 June 2021) will remove all legal limits on social contact, reopen remaining closed settings, including nightclubs, and potentially remove capacity restrictions on large events (depending on the outcome of the Events Research Programme).
Key points for employers
- Working from home: The ‘stay at home’ rule will end on 29 March 2021, and with it the legal restrictions on attending work. However, guidance to work from home where possible will remain in place in place until the end of Step 3 (i.e. no earlier than 21 June 2021).
- COVID-secure workplace guidance will also remain in place at least until the end of Stage 3. The government will update COVID-Secure guidance to provide further advice on how businesses can improve fresh air flow in indoor workplaces and introduce regular testing to reduce risk.
- Workplace testing: The government’s offer of free test kits to workplaces for staff who cannot work at home will be extended to until the end of June 2021. Organisations, including those yet to open, will need to register interest before 31 March 2021. The government will keep this under review as vaccine deployment continues and will investigate how testing could be used to support the recovery.
- Self-isolation: NHS Test and Trace appears to have been re-branded as “Test, Trace and Isolate”, perhaps to emphasise the importance of self-isolation, amid long-standing concerns that some people are not complying with self-isolation requirements. In response to significant political pressure to increase financial support for self-isolation, the Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme will continue into the summer, and will be expanded to cover parents who are unable to work because they are caring for a child who is self-isolating. The roadmap states that government intends for testing to become a viable alternative to self-isolation for contacts of infected people, but the current emergence of new variants has meant this is not yet feasible.
- Shielding: The government anticipates that it will no longer be necessary to advise shielding of clinically extremely vulnerable people beyond the end of March 2021. The government will confirm advice and next steps nearer the time. The government is however considering the long-term support that may be needed for the clinically extremely vulnerable, particularly for those who cannot be vaccinated or do not receive a significant increase in immunity from the vaccine.
- International travel: The Global Travel Taskforce will report on 12 April 2021 with recommendations aimed at facilitating a return to international travel as soon as possible, while still managing the risk from imported cases and new variants. Following that, the government will determine when international travel should resume, which will be no earlier than the start of Step 3 (17 May 2021).
- CJRS and other support for jobs: the Budget on 3 March 2021 will outline the next stage in the government’s Plan for Jobs including further detail on economic support to protect jobs and livelihoods across the UK. The approach will reflect the steps set out in the roadmap: as restrictions ease and the economy is gradually reopened, the government will tailor the level of support to individuals and businesses.
- Social distancing: the roadmap acknowledges that even after all adults in the UK have been offered a vaccine, a significant proportion of the population could still be infected with COVID-19, either because they have not been vaccinated or because the vaccine is not effective for them. This could mean that some measures to limit transmission are still needed after all adults have been offered a vaccine. These could include guidance such as “hands, face, space”, maintaining the Test, Trace and Isolate system, and controls at the border. The government will complete a review of social distancing measures and other long-term measures that have been put in place to limit transmission. The results of the review will help inform decisions on the timing and circumstances under which rules on 1m+, face masks and other measures may be lifted. The review will also inform guidance on working from home – the roadmap states that people should continue to work from home where they can until this review is complete. The review will report by the end of Step 3.
Vaccination
As many employers now consider the implications of the vaccine rollout for their workforce, the roadmap includes some interesting points for employers to bear in mind when formulating their policies:
- Vaccine passports? Having previously rejected the idea of ‘vaccine passports’, the government will now review whether “COVID status certification” could play a role in reopening our economy. “COVID status certification” involves using testing or vaccination data to confirm in different settings that people have a lower risk of transmitting COVID-19 to others. The government has committed to consider the ethical, equalities, privacy, legal and operational aspects of this approach and what limits, if any, should be placed on organisations using certification. The government will set out its conclusions in advance of Step 4.
- Second phase of vaccine rollout: Adults under 50 who do not fall into any of the priority cohorts 1 to 9 will receive their vaccinations in the second phase of the rollout. This covers around 18 million people in England, and 21 million in the UK. The Government expects Phase 2 of the vaccine rollout to begin from mid-April and aims to offer everybody aged 18 and over a first dose of the vaccine by 31 July.
- Vaccine efficacy: Even assuming full take up by those who are eligible for the vaccine, the government estimates that only 66% of the UK population would be vaccinated and may be protected at the end of the roll-out. A further 21% would be ineligible for a vaccine, either because they are under 18 or because of a medical condition. A further 13% would be vaccinated but may not be protected from contracting COVID-19.
- Revaccination: the Government is planning for a revaccination campaign, which is likely to run later this year in autumn or winter. Any revaccination is likely to consist of a single ‘booster’ dose of a COVID-19 vaccine: the ideal booster may be a new vaccine specifically designed against a variant form of the virus. Over the longer term, revaccination is likely to become a regular part of managing COVID-19.
For more information about the implications of COVID vaccination for employers, you can listen to our podcast here. If you would like to discuss any of these issues in more detail, please speak to your usual Slaughter and May contact.