As employers said goodbye last week to the "Working Safely" with Covid era we now move to the phase of "Reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including Covid-19, in the workplace".

The latest guidance for employers has been published as part of the Living with Covid plans that apply from 1 April.

The WorkSmarter summary of the main principles for employers to now consider are:

- Employers should take such actions as they can to reduce spread of respiratory infections, such as encouraging vaccinations, improving ventilation and maintaining a clean workplace

- When an employee is unwell with symptoms of a respiratory infection (not just Covid), they should try to stay at home and avoid contact with people until they no longer feel unwell or no longer have a temperature. During this period they should work from home if they can and if they are unable to work from home, they should talk to their employer about available options. Employers are informed that "they may wish" to consider how to best support and enable their workforce to follow this guidance as far as possible

- If an employee tests positive for Covid, they should follow the same guidance as above, but for a period of five days after the day they took the test. They should avoid meeting people at higher risk of becoming seriously unwell from Covid for ten days after the test.

- There remains a small number of people whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, despite vaccination. People in this group are advised to “work from home if this feels right for you”. If working from home is not possible, people in these groups are to speak to their employer about what arrangements they can make to reduce the risk. The guidance states that employers "may wish to consider the needs of employees at greater risk from COVID-19”. It is important to note that those employees previously identified as "clinically extremely vulnerable" are now advised to follow the same guidance as everyone else, as they are said to be now well protected following vaccination.

- Employees must be sick or incapable of work in order to be eligible for statutory sick pay (SSP); they are no longer automatically entitled to SSP for self-isolating. Statutory sick pay will also only be payable from the fourth qualifying day an employee is off work.

- The legal requirement to consider Covid-19 as part of a statutory health and safety risk assessment is no longer in force and there is no longer a requirement to report outbreaks of Covid in the workplace,

It is notable that in this latest guidance, by moving from legal requirements and strict rules of "must" and "should", to encouragement that an employer "may" and should "try", the responsibility for managing Covid in the workplace has now been passed to individual employers to determine.