As Covid cases remain high in Ireland, many employees have found themselves having contracted the virus or are a close contact of someone who has.
The recent change in rules surrounding Covid testing and those who are eligible for the illness of self-isolation payment due to Covid-19 has led to some confusion for employees across Ireland.
However, Richard Grogan, a specialist in providing legal services in Employment Law & Personal Injury Litigation, has clarified some rules around whether or not you are required to go to work if you are a close contact.
Taking to his TikTok account, the solicitor said: “Now I'm getting an awful lot of messages in today about people going back to work tomorrow, and two issues are coming up. The first is antigen testing, and the second is close contacts.
“Now on antigen testing, the law as it currently stands is an employer cannot say to you that you have to get an antigen test. That's a law that currently is. It may change.
“Now those employers who are asking for this to be done, well some of them aren't even going to provide the antigen test for free, and if you're going to ask an employee to take an antigen test, it should be at least provided for free.”
Richard then pointed out what he said was an ‘incredibly stupid’ rule that employers can enforce.
He said: “Now the second thing is close contacts. Some employers are saying unless you have a positive PCR, that a positive antigen test doesn't count, they still want you to come to work.
“Now that is incredibly stupid and will open up an awful lot of claims, but technically, under the law, they’re entitled to say it. Now I'm sorry to say, that but that's what the position on it is.”
An employer asking an employee to attend work after they have tested positive for Covid on an antigen test is against public health advice but is not illegal in the eyes of the law.
Current advice from the HSE states: If any of your antigen tests are positive:
- self-isolate (stay at home)
- get a COVID-19 PCR test
“The PCR test will confirm if you have COVID-19.
“If your PCR test is negative, you do not need to do another antigen test.”
