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What started out as a 3-week lockdown has turned out to be an extended period of anxiety and uncertainty for all employers and their employees. At the time writing we are 21 months into the Covid-19 pandemic and there are no signs of an end in sight. So what does this mean for businesses and their staff?

The Chancellor announced last night that he is reintroducing the SSP reimbursement scheme for SMEs who have employees off sick with Covid. However, the details are still somewhat sparse.

When staff members decide to leave, it can be a huge and expensive inconvenience, especially if you are a small business. Employees can leave for all sorts of reasons, from not getting on with their manager or colleagues to struggling with their workload. Staff are not as loyal as they used to be, so what can you do?

Further to the discovery of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, the government has introduced precautionary measures to slow the spread in the UK until more can be understood about the potential impact.

Although there is much still to be learned about the variant, it is understood that it spreads ‘very rapidly’ and can be spread between those who have been double vaccinated. It is also an extensive mutation of other forms of the virus and so there is potential that the protection afforded by vaccination may be reduced.

In an important amendment to the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Regulations, employees will be allowed to self-certificate for up to 28 days starting from 17 December 2021 through to 26 January 2022.