The Government has published a new letter for clinically extremely vulnerable individuals in England in response to the falling number of COVID-19 cases and vaccination progress.

Shielding guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable in England was updated in January 2021 following the imposition of a new national lockdown. The clinically extremely vulnerable were advised to shield from 5 January 2021 and where an employee was unable to work from home,  employers were able to furlough them.

Following publication of the government's proposed roadmap out of the current restrictions and in response to the falling number of COVID-19 cases in England, the Department of Health and Social Care has published a new notification letter for the clinically extremely vulnerable in England dated 17 March 2021. From 1 April 2021, the clinically extremely vulnerable will no longer be advised to shield and will not be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) on the basis of being advised to shield. However, they should continue to work from home where possible. If they cannot work from home, they are advised to attend their workplace. The letter notes that employers are required to take steps to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace.

The immediate question for many employers will be whether furlough remains an option?  In many cases, where the employee cannot work from home,  there may still be a reluctance on the part of the employee to return to the workplace at this stage.  Given that it is clear sick pay is no longer an option, is furlough off the table too? 

As of today the shielding guidance states that it was updated on 18 March 2021 but does not yet reflect the latest position.  It says that an employee may be furloughed, but then it refers to the CJRS ending in April 2021 (which is obviously out of date).  We expect the guidance to be updated imminently and the logical conclusion would be that furlough is not available to a clinically extremely vulnerable (if sick pay is not) on the premise that the Government's view is now that it is safe for them to return to any Covid Secure workplace (if they cannot work from home).