Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of giving NHS staff paid leave when they are required to self-isolate.

It is essential for infection control purposes that staff members who should self-isolate, do so. To support this, we have issued guidance to employers to ensure all National Health Service staff, including those who would normally need to be physically present at an NHS facility to fulfill their role and who are unable to work from home, continue to receive full pay should they be required to self-isolate as a result of public health advice.

Our guidance states that employers should use their usual methods for calculating full pay using agreed processes at a local level and in line with NHS terms and conditions. The full guidance on self-isolation can be found on the NHS Employers’ website at the following link:

https://www.nhsemployers.org/covid19/staff-terms-and-conditions/self-isolation