Britons caught out by the last-minute addition of Spain to the UK’s quarantine list are being left out of pocket after being forced to isolate for 14 days upon their return.
Employers are under no obligation to pay staff while they are in quarantine, self-employed workers will be forced to give up jobs – and some people could even face the sack if they have to isolate when returning home.
The shock decision to enforce a 14-day quarantine was imposed with five hours’ notice and left tens of thousands of tourists unable to return home before it kicked in.
Employment barrister Grahame Anderson said: ‘If you come back from Spain today and your boss says you have got to be in work on Monday, there’s not a great deal you can do if they say ‘well if you don’t come in, I’m not going to pay you’. And if you haven’t been there for two years, you’ve got very little protection against being dismissed as well.’
Downing Street said holidaymakers who miss out on work because of the quarantine period may be eligible for Universal Credit or employment support allowance but not statutory sick pay.
Among the Britons arriving at Manchester Airport today was Joanne Jackson, who had just returned from a two-week break in Nerja and said she has now lost £2,000 in wages due to the quarantine.
Care worker Joanne Jackson flew into Manchester Airport today. She had just returned from a two-week break in Nerja, Spain, and said she has now lost £2,000 in wages due to the quarantine
The 49-year-old from Manchester said: ‘It is a ridiculous decision and disgraceful one. Everyone abroad should have been given two weeks’ notice, not just a few hours.’
The care worker added: ‘Thanks to the government, I have lost £2,000 in wages. Who is going to pay my wages? Who is going to pay my mortgage and bills. What will I do for money?’
She added: ‘Where I have been staying, the infection rate is zero. The government should make people who are returning from high-risk areas quarantine, and not put a blanket-ban on the whole of Spain.
‘I am absolutely livid that I now have to quarantine. I’ll be back over in Spain soon. It won’t stop me flying.’
Max Jury, 26, from Clitheroe, Lancashire, who owns an energy grants company, said: ‘It’s is annoying that I have to quarantine for 14 days but I understand why.
‘They are just trying to control things and fix the problem. I’m not too bad work-wise because I can work from home for the next two weeks.’
Mr Jury, who had been on a four-day trip to Barcelona, added: ‘The online form is pretty straightforward to complete. They just want your contact details and where you’re going to be living.
‘Quite a few people hadn’t filled them in so there was quite a long queue at immigration.
Hayley Frost, 23, from Manchester, had been out in Barcelona since Tuesday. The editorial assistant said: ‘I’m upset because now I have to quarantine.
‘I was supposed to come back on Friday but I got good poisoning and had to stay longer. If I’d have return when I was supposed to, I’d have been OK.
‘Work don’t even know that I’ve been to Spain. I took a week off and then decided to go. I’m going to have to tell them now.
‘We were starting to go back into the office to to work but now I’ll have to work from home for the next two weeks.’
Amanda Thompson, 47, and her son, Finley, 12, are in the UK for a month. Ms Thompson, who lives In Barcelona, said: ‘I think it is disgusting.
‘The UK government has handled this all wrong. My friends have been contacting me saying that Barcelona is in complete lockdown and that is not true.
‘The government has dealt with this incorrectly and handled it badly from start to finish. Fortunately, I’m back here to renovate a house, so it won’t be too bad.’
Chris Gibbs, 39, from Prestatyn, owns a building company. He had just returned from a four-day golfing trip. He said: ‘I can’t go to work now because I have to quarantine.
‘I have an extension at a house that needs completing and the house is exposed at the back. Now I can’t go back to working on it and will have to tell the owners the work will be delayed.
‘I am very annoyed and thought about driving to France to avoid this. The Spanish authorities are saying that all this is unnecessary and outbreak isn’t really bad.
Amongst the arrivals at Stansted Airport today were young couple Harry Priestner, 24 and Meg Day, 23, who said it put a sour ending to their first romantic holiday together
‘I live on my own so I can go shopping during quarantine but that’s it. And because I’m self-employed I won’t be earning any money.’
Phil Royle, 57, a print manager from St Helens, had just returned from Malaga. He said: ‘It’s an absolute disaster.
‘From what I understand I can still fly to America where thousands of people are dying without any restrictions but I have to quarantine from Spain where the infection rate is less.
‘I felt much safer over there than I do here. Work can organise a test and I can test negative but I still have to quarantine.
‘I’ve worked all the way through and was looking forward to this holiday and now I feel flat. ‘It has put a damper on the whole trip.’
Gabrielle Mottersley, a creative manager from Manchester, had returned from Malaga. She said: ‘It is a really terrible way of finishing the holiday.
‘The whole procedure is an absolute shambles. But the way the government has handled it all the way through has been awful, too.
‘There has been no consistency and procedures have been switched all the time without much notice.
‘I just feel so let down. I also feel really sorry for the business owners out there who have tried really hard to make it as safe as possible. I work from home so I’m OK from that perspective.’
Meanwhile holidaymakers arriving at London Stansted Airport from Spain today said they had been let down by the Government and the shock collapse of the air bridge.
Furious arrivals claimed Spain was safer than Britain and fumed about the sudden change in position.
Amongst the arrivals were young couple Harry Priestner, 24 and Meg Day, 23, who said it put a sour ending to their first romantic holiday together.
Mr Priestner had been furloughed from his job in recruitment and fears what could happen if he is asked to come back in.
He said: ‘To be honest I’m disappointed, we wouldn’t have gone on holiday if we knew we were going to get stuck in quarantine.
‘Not only that we have gone from a lockdown where we were allowed to exercise to a stricter one.
‘We can’t leave for a dog walk, can’t exercise. This was our first holiday together, it was lovely and I’m glad we went but it has certainly put a bit of a sad turn on the end of a nice holiday.
‘Now we have to be locked inside for two weeks, I’m on furlough and I don’t know when I’m going back to work. If I suddenly get pulled back in, I’m going to have to turn around and say I can’t come back.
The Londoner added: ‘We only went on the basis it was an air bridge and then suddenly out of nowhere it got announced.
‘We are going to try and be positive, but it is a bit of a shock – there’s nothing we can do about it. I feel let down by the Government, we only went because we were allowed to go.
‘Would we have gone for a four day holiday if we knew everything we had planned to do for the next two weeks would be cancelled -absolutely not, it’s not worth it.’
Meg added: ‘I’m a bit annoyed, and let down.’
And another traveller says he was forced to leave his wife and kids in Spain so he could return home and start isolating so he didn’t miss work.
The engineering manager, from Colchester, Essex said: ‘I’ll guess I’ll find out what it means for work. I left my kids and wife out there and cut my holiday short to isolate, it’s unfortunate I have to do it.
‘It’s annoying as places in Spain with rising cases are happening in pockets and I was 1,000 miles away from there.
Amanda Thompson with her son Finley who have flown into Manchester Airport in from Spain only to be told they needed to self isolate for two weeks. Ms Thompson, who lives In Barcelona, said: ‘I think it is disgusting. ‘The UK government has handled this all wrong.
‘I think the Spanish are much better on social distancing and taking the measures than here. Police were on the beaches, there wasn’t too many people there, there was no Bournemouth there.’
Alex Waters, 20, and Leia Walker, 21, from Stansted, Essex, were also livid with the decision after arriving from Majorca.
Ms Walker said: ‘We are a bit annoyed and p***ed off. The conditions are so much better than here. We looked at flights to potentially come back earlier to self-isolate, but there was nothing – there was no chance to even think about it.
‘It is a bit gutting, were hoping there will be some kind of dispensation for the Balearics as the cases are so low.
‘We can work from home, but we’ve just started to come back to work and now we have to take back another two weeks before we can return again.
Hayley Frost (left) and Chris Gibbs (right) are pictured at Manchester Airport today after flying in from Spain. Ms Frost said: ‘I’m upset because now I have to quarantine’, and Mr Gibbs said: ‘I can’t go to work now because I have to quarantine’
Mr Waters added: ‘We have been going into London every day for work and we were in Majorca and the social distancing was so much better. ‘All restaurants had hand sanitiser and everyone followed social distancing.’
Phil Gander, 48, from Buckinghamshire, echoed their confusion. He said: ‘It’s shocking in a way, it could have happened 48 hours before and I wouldn’t have gone out there.
‘I felt fine out there, it was very relaxed out there. If you had your mask on you were fine.
‘It’s annoying as I have been isolating for four months and were back to it, but as long as I take precautions I should be fine.’
Married couple Kevin and Amanda Barker, from Bishop’s Stortford, agreed with Mr Gander. Mr Barker, 56, said: ‘It hasn’t been very well flagged, I feel let down by the Government.
Carer Zoe Pett, 19, was returning from a family holiday in Spain and says she will now be unable to work for a week. She is pictured (right) with a friend at Stansted Airport today
‘They seem to have acted very differently from other Governments and taken a much harsher route.
‘We have arrived from Alicante and there are very few instances of Covid over there, it seems a very harsh approach.’ Mrs Barker, 55, added: ‘I felt very safe over there.’
Carer Zoe Pett, 19, was returning from a family holiday and says she will now be unable to work for a week.
She said: ‘I can’t go back to work and I think I’m going to have to wait for a test, but we will have to wait now due to the incubation period.
‘I’m a bit livid really, we had a nice time – it was worth it really. I work part-time in a care home helping old people.
Self-employed IT technician Nick Madeley, 41, pictured with his wife wife Alison, 49, and five-year-old daughter Ellie. He is returning from Majorca to East Midlands Airport today, but is now having to pay contractors to take on his jobs because he can no longer complete them
‘I’m a bit annoyed I can’t go to work, but I don’t want to put them at risk. I wouldn’t feel comfortable going back in.’
Among the victims is a British tourist in Spain who runs the UK charity Mask Our Heroes which provides personal protective equipment to frontline workers.
Emily Woods told ITV’s This Morning: ‘We came out Thursday. We were checking government guidelines and there was no sign of restrictions being imposed.
‘We travelled very safely and I know a lot about PPE – I run a PPE charity. We were picked up at the airport and we were taken to our friend’s villa and we were faced with being in lockdown for two weeks. This will restrict the work I’m doing.’
Self-employed IT technician Nick Madeley, 41, who is returning from Majorca to East Midlands Airport today, said he was having to pay contractors to take on his jobs because he will no longer be able to complete them while in quarantine.
Among the victims is British tourist Emily Woods in Spain who runs the UK charity Mask Our Heroes which provides personal protective equipment to frontline workers
Mr Madeley, of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, has been on holiday with his wife Alison, 49, and five-year-old daughter Ellie.
He told MailOnline that the family had a holiday cancelled to Madeira so we followed Foreign Office advice and changed to Santa Ponsa in Majorca knowing they would not have to isolate upon return.
Mr Madeley said: ‘We’ve all had a great holiday and also stuck to the rules regarding face masks and sanitisation and we have felt very safe.
‘But it’s my daughter I feel sorry for. Having gone through lockdown stuck at home patiently abiding by the lockdown rules, then slowly getting back into school, this holiday was our little bit of normality that we’ve worked hard for.
‘And now we all have to quarantine and lose out on another two weeks summer holidays where she can’t go out and do things we were planning on doing.’
Phil Royle and Gabrielle Mottersley have flown into Manchester Airport from Spain today. Ms Mottersley, a creative manager from Manchester, had returned from Malaga. She said: ‘It is a really terrible way of finishing the holiday’
He added: ‘I am self-employed and I am due back into work the day after we get back. Now I cannot and have been seeking other contractors since the announcement to complete my work now, at my expense, whilst I will be in quarantine.
‘I didn’t take the decision lightly to go abroad and could have quite easily had a refund, but that wouldn’t help our economy like the Government want us to do.
Spain calls for its low-infection islands to be DROPPED from UK quarantine list amid fury at contradictory government advice that only includes mainland
Spain today called on the UK Government to drop the Spanish islands from its quarantine list after British tourists were told they can travel there but must still go into 14-day isolation upon returning home.
Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised UK travellers against all non-essential travel including holidays to mainland Spain.
Holidaymakers including British tourists on the beach in Santa Eulalia in Ibiza yesterday
But this does not apply to the Canary Islands – Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa – and the Balearic Islands – Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera.
However, people returning from anywhere in Spain – including the Canaries and Balearics – are now required to go into 14 day quarantine on return.
Ministers in the UK Government are now said to be considering giving the Canaries and Balearics an exemption, but this could still be one week away.
The Spanish government and Britain’s travel industry trade body, the Association of British Travel Agents, argue it is not necessary for the Canaries and Balearics to be included in the quarantine, pointing out that infection rates on these islands are low.
Abta has told the Government to ‘consider’ changing the rules, while Spain’s Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya is trying to convince Britain to exclude the Balearics and Canaries, saying: ‘Spain is safe, it is safe for Spaniards, it is safe for tourists.’
But one British tourist tested positive for Covid-19 in Lanzarote last week, and the UK Government fears that if the islands were exempt this could allow a loophole in the system.
In theory, someone on holiday in Spain could fly home via Majorca and avoid quarantine.
A Whitehall source close to discussions on whether to give the Canaries and Balearics an exemption told The Sun today: ‘They are considering an exemption to the Balearic and Canary Islands. Their rates are lower so it may be on the cards.
‘But the announcement may not come until the weekly review. There has been some debate as to whether they should be included as there is a lot of traffic between the mainland and the islands, and that’s where the issue is.’
‘Now I feel like we’re being penalised for it. I understand we have to react to outbreaks, but the whole of the UK isn’t out of bounds to people travelling in just because of Leicester etc.’
Another tourist, Jan Keegan, told MailOnline she returned with her family from the Canary Islands last night and is ‘extremely frustrated’ at the quarantine.
She said: ‘Overnight it went from mainland Spain to the Canaries, which seems crazy as their cases are so low.
‘It doesn’t impact so much on me as I am a key worker working from home but my husband is a HGV driver and has only just returned to work after being furloughed.
‘We would not have gone away knowing about the quarantine as we are unsure how this will impact on my husband’s wage and of course the inconvenience to the firm he works for. We are praying they revise the quarantine for the Balearics and the Canaries. ‘
Tony and Yolanda Schofield, from Leamington Spa, flew into Heathrow Airport from Madrid this morning. The couple flew to Spain from Mexico, where they had been ‘self-isolating’ for eight weeks, Mr Schofield said.
‘We were surprised at the final bit of having to quarantine from Spain, although we knew we would have to, coming back from Mexico,’ he said. ‘It has been very smooth, very easy.’
Asked about the two-week quarantine, Mr Schofield called it ‘necessary’.
Mrs Schofield added: ‘For us it’s OK because we don’t have to go to work. We’ve kind of planned it really to do that, and we’ve got somewhere to quarantine.’
Laura Martin, an au pair who lives in London, is unable to return to work for 14 days due to the quarantine on arrivals from Spain.
The 27-year-old flew into Heathrow Airport from Madrid, where she was visiting friends and family. ‘The quarantine is not a problem. I think it’s just for people’s safety,’ she said.
She said, although the family she works as an au pair for looked at ‘other solutions, like a hostel’, she will spend the two weeks self-isolating with a friend.
One woman, flying to Madrid from Heathrow Airport to visit friends for two days, said she felt ‘horrible’ about the prospect of having to quarantine for two weeks on her return.
Giving her name only as Maria, she said: ‘I feel horrible. I get it’s for safety and everything, but if people are already taking measures then I think it’s so much of a hassle.
‘I’m going to be there for just two nights, barely three days, so it’s not even a long time.’
The woman, who works in business and is from Reading, says she will work from home when she returns, adding: ‘If it would have affected my work, I would have to cancel the flight full stop.’
Joe Allen, a TV producer from London who visited Madrid and returned on Sunday, said he felt let down by the lack of information to travellers about the ‘knee-jerk’ decision.
Mr Allen said: ‘We waited for the appropriate time and I specifically waited for the quarantine to have been lifted from Spain, and I absolutely wouldn’t have gone with a quarantine.
‘We all sort of resigned ourselves in fact pretty quickly that there was nothing we could do about it, we just have to follow the rules and we get that, but I think we’re all frustrated.’
The 32-year-old said he had not had any official communication from the Government about the quarantine.
He added: ‘I was expecting perhaps at border control there’d be some big old posters or digital screens or people with megaphones perhaps saying ‘Don’t forget you need to isolate’.
‘What would have been useful is for someone who made it clear in advance – ‘There is a real possibility that you could get stopped from coming home’.
‘You can argue that I was naive for not knowing that, but I think it might have been helpful.’
Alex Waters, 20, and Leia Walker, 21, from Stansted, Essex, were also livid with the decision after arriving from Majorca. Ms Walker said: ‘We are a bit annoyed and p***ed off. The conditions are so much better than here’
Laura Wood, 41, from Oxfordshire, flew from Gatwick to Spain’s Costa Blanca with her family for a two-week holiday, also returning on Sunday, shortly after the measures took effect.
She said: ‘It was a bit of a last-minute disappointment to the end of the holiday but we’re going to get on with it. There has to be a cut-off, I guess, and we were just on the unlucky side of it.’
‘It was a different type of holiday than we’ve had, you don’t kind of expect to be walking along the seafront wearing a mask in 30C heat,’ she added.
Mrs Wood said she had experienced some ‘smug’ responses from people at home and online after the measures were announced.
‘I think it works both ways; I don’t think people can complain about the quarantine necessarily because we knew we were taking risks, but I think people’s joy at other people’s misfortune is a bit sad.’
Laura Martin, 27, an au pair living in London, arriving back at Heathrow Airport from Madrid today. She said, although the family she works as an au pair for looked at ‘other solutions, like a hostel’, she will spend the two weeks self-isolating with a friend
Sophia Fadil, from Brighton, 32, works in retail after being made redundant during lockdown from her job in the travel industry.
She is currently on holiday in the Alicante region with her partner, who is a nurse, and her five-year-old son. She said the measures are a ‘slap in the face’ for the travel industry.
‘It’s just a really rubbish situation as I kind of feel it’s one step forward and then two steps back when it comes to the travel industry,’ she said.
‘I probably wouldn’t have travelled out here had I known this in advance, so in a sense I’m kind of glad I’m already here.
‘I think this was outrageous that the Government finally confirmed it three hours before it was implemented so that didn’t give anyone enough time to travel home if they needed to.’
Tony and Yolanda Schofield, from Leamington Spa, flew into Heathrow Airport from Madrid this morning. Asked about the two-week quarantine, Mr Schofield called it ‘necessary’
Anthony Campbell-Butler, from London, is in Menorca with his wife and two children. He said: We booked a trip to Menorca last-minute on Monday and flew out on Thursday (July 23).
‘We’re still glad we came on our trip but we are disappointed we now have to self isolate upon our return to London. We think the Government could have better coordinated the isolation from the islands considering the breakout is on the mainland.
‘When Barcelona was shut down the government should have acted at that point and taken Spain off the corridor list. We will get through isolation but the challenge will be occupying our two children, ages ten and eight, for two weeks during the school holidays.
‘Our children are disappointed they will not be able to see their friends for the next two weeks. Perhaps Spain should not have been on the list in the first place.’
Tamara Golan, who is now having to isolate with her husband after returning from Spain, said at London Heathrow Airport that travellers were being ‘left in the lurch’.
Tamara Golan, who is now having to isolate with her husband after returning from Spain, said at London Heathrow Airport that travellers were being ‘left in the lurch’
She told Sky News: ‘If we had been given time, three days ago they would have said, probably on Saturday and Sunday we are going to institute a new quarantine policy, we might have made different plans.
‘And I think there’s so many people who have just been sort of left in the lurch right now, and it feels like the Government isn’t acting responsibly.’
Some delayed passengers missed their transfer in Madrid – and would have avoided the quarantine had they been hours earlier.
Speaking at Heathrow, Chantelle Fourriles told Sky News: ‘We missed our connection, so now we have to put up with this situation.’
Another passenger at Heathrow, Jack Winter, said: ‘I purposely moved my trip from Portugal to Spain because Portugal was on the no-fly list, and it’s completely swapped, so that’s doubly sucker-punched me a little bit.’
Speaking at London Heathrow Airport, air passenger Chantelle Fourriles told Sky News: ‘We missed our connection, so now we have to put up with this situation.’
The decision to take Spain off the ‘safe list’ of quarantine-free destinations followed a surge in cases last week. The move, which came barely two weeks after quarantine restrictions were lifted in Spain, left the travel industry in shock.
The prospect of travellers to France suffering the same fate was raised yesterday when the country’s prime minister said ‘localised lockdowns’ may be imposed if infections continue to rise.
One doctor learnt of the new rules three minutes after touching down in Malaga on Saturday – and opted to fly straight home yesterday because he couldn’t afford a fortnight off work on top of the holiday time he had booked.
Dr Andras Szigeti, who spent £600 on the trip to Malaga with his partner, had been looking forward to a break after working throughout lockdown.
Instead after one night there he will have to self-isolate at home in Chelmsford, Essex, and return to work in two weeks.
Another passenger at Heathrow, Jack Winter, said: ‘I purposely moved my trip from Portugal to Spain because Portugal was on the no-fly list, and it’s completely swapped, so that’s doubly sucker-punched me a little bit’
‘Since I am a private doctor and I am the main breadwinner in the family, I cannot allow myself to lose half of my monthly salary,’ he told the BBC.
Dr Szigeti, whose LinkedIn profile says he is an optometrist for a high street optician, and his partner booked the trip as an alternative to visiting family in Hungary, which has imposed entry requirements for those arriving from the UK.
NHS worker Peter Anderson, 49, returning from Marbella, believes he would be eligible to go straight back to work but instead faces taking two weeks off because of his wife Gaynor’s home-based job.
‘My wife works for a self-catering holiday firm,’ he said ahead of flying from Malaga to Liverpool with his wife and son Thomas, six, before returning home to Windermere, Cumbria.
‘She won’t be in a position to do her job properly and keep an eye on a six-year-old running around the house. I’m going to have to take time off work to look after him.
Veterinary nurse Gemma Vilanova (left, at Manchester Airport), 28, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, was due to start a new job at a surgery today after visiting family near Barcelona
‘Our son was supposed to be going to a kids’ club for three days this week and won’t be able to now. ‘
Mrs Anderson, 47, said: ‘We should have got more notice, 24 to 48 hours at least, so we could have had more time to sort out alternatives.’
Veterinary nurse Gemma Vilanova, 28, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, was due to start a new job at a surgery today after visiting family near Barcelona.
Instead, after flying back yesterday, she faces having to tell her employer that she can’t start for another fortnight.
‘Because I’m not a key worker, I’m going to have to quarantine,’ she said. ‘It is just unnecessary hassle.’
She said she saw little evidence that immigration staff were checking that arriving passengers had complied with the requirement to register where they planned to self-isolate, adding: ‘The safety measures aren’t very strict.’
NHS worker Peter Anderson, 49, of Cumbria, believes he would be eligible to go straight back to work but instead faces taking two weeks off because of his wife Gaynor’s home-based job. They are pictured at Malaga Airport with their son Thomas before flying to Liverpool
Becki Gorman, 36, from Blackley, Manchester, ought to have been returning to her job as a store manager today after 12 days in Benidorm but will now be at home on unpaid leave for a fortnight.
‘We were having a meal in a restaurant when we found out,’ she said. ‘I tried to change the flights but the only one I could find landed just after midnight so it was pointless.
‘There is no way we’d have gone if we then had to spend 14 days at home. This doesn’t help anyone.’
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman reiterated that the Government expects employers to be ‘flexible’ in allowing staff to work from home while self-isolating.
‘Where this isn’t possible we would expect that many employers would have their own policies in place for quarantine and we know that some continue to offer full pay for all or some of the isolation period,’ he added.
‘But if there are people who need urgent support then they may be entitled to the new-style employment support allowance or Universal Credit.’
Becki Gorman (right, at Manchester Airport), 36, from Blackley, Manchester, pictured with Keeley Gorman (left) and baby Mia, ought to have been returning to her job as a store manager today after 12 days in Benidorm but will now be at home on unpaid leave for a fortnight
Pressed on whether ministers would review statutory sick pay eligibility, he said: ‘We always keep our response to the pandemic under review and we regularly assess the support available but there is support available for those in need.’
Calling for statutory sick pay for those now having to quarantine, Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds told BBC Breakfast today: ‘We are now asking people to come back from abroad and isolate for 14 days.
‘Yet if you have a look at the Government website this morning on qualifications for statutory sick pay, it will tell you that you’re not entitled to statutory sick pay if you are isolating or self-isolating for the sole reason that you have just returned from abroad and not for any other reason.
‘Yet at the same time the Government seems to be telling us that people won’t lose out because they’ve got to rely on the goodwill of employers
‘Now that’s just not a satisfactory situation and evidence that this should have been fully thought through.’
Asked if people should receive statutory sick pay if self-isolating after returning from abroad, Mr Thomas-Symonds said: ‘Of course people should be offered whatever it takes that they don’t lose out, and that’s what the Government has previously been saying.’
Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds told BBC Breakfast that he was calling for statutory sick pay for those now having to quarantine
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady has called for sick pay to be increased and said ‘no one should suffer financially for following official advice to quarantine’.
She added: ‘It’s not holidaymakers’ fault that the guidance has changed. Wherever possible, employers should do the right thing and pay quarantined workers their full pay.
‘The Government must also make it clear that people who can’t work from home during quarantine will be eligible for statutory sick pay.
‘And they should increase sick pay from £95 a week to at least the level of the ‘real living wage’ of £320 a week.
‘In addition, ministers should change the law to stop employers from sacking quarantined workers.’
Health minister Helen Whately told Sky News that people should work from home if they are returning from Spain – and urged employers to ‘be supportive’.
** Are you now in quarantine in Britain after returning from Spain? Please email: [email protected] or [email protected] **