{"id":17722,"date":"2021-03-01T13:40:12","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T13:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dlapiper.com\/beaware\/?p=17722"},"modified":"2021-03-30T15:57:24","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T14:57:24","slug":"covid-19-government-urges-employers-to-test-staff-31-march-deadline-to-register-for-free-kits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dlapiper.com\/beaware\/covid-19-government-urges-employers-to-test-staff-31-march-deadline-to-register-for-free-kits\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19: Government urges employers to test staff: deadline to register for free kits extended from 31 March to 12 April 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

30 MARCH 2021 UPDATE: The deadline to register for free kits has been extended to 12 April 2021.\u00a0 In addition,\u00a0 employers with 10 or more employees are now able to order home test kits online to distribute to their employees.<\/strong><\/p>\n

6 MARCH 2021 UPDATE:\u00a0 The Government has today extended the offer of free testing kits to all businesses, including those with fewer than 50 employees.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Provision for COVID-19 testing in the UK has been \u00a0ramping up noticeably since the start of 2021 and, \u00a0in the last few weeks,\u00a0 part of the government\u2019s focus has turned to testing in UK workplaces.<\/p>\n

The Spring Response Roadmap published last week says that workplace testing will be an important mitigation as business starts to reopen from 12 April 2021.\u00a0 It also says that the government will update the COVID- Secure guidance to provide further advice on how businesses can introduce regular testing to reduce risk, but this hasn\u2019t happened yet.<\/p>\n

Following publication of the Roadmap,\u00a0 the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has now written to all businesses<\/a> registered in England to ask them to test staff \u2013 initially those who cannot work from home, and then those who return to the workplace as the economy opens up. \u00a0\u00a0The government\u2019s Guidance for Employers on COVID-19 Testing<\/a> has also been updated recently and now says that the government \u201cwants as many employers as possible to sign up to regularly test their employees.\u00a0 This will reduce the risk of transmission among those who cannot work from home and ensure vital public and economic services can continue\u201d.<\/p>\n

Coupled with this request for support for testing from employers,\u00a0 the government is offering to provide employers with 50+ employees with testing kits free of charge until 30 June 2021.\u00a0 To access these kits, firms must register through an online Government portal<\/a> by 31 March 2021<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Employers with fewer than 50 employees are being encouraged by the government to inform their employees of the ability to access community testing sites which provide lateral flow tests for asymptomatic individuals who are not able to work from home.<\/p>\n

Legal considerations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the government backing for workplace testing is a welcome development in supporting business operations during the pandemic,\u00a0\u00a0 employers must, nonetheless, be aware of their legal obligations when designing and implementing a testing programme \u00a0–\u00a0 health and safety laws,\u00a0 data privacy laws, \u00a0employment laws and discrimination laws will all come into play.\u00a0\u00a0 Particular matters to consider, and to address in a detailed workplace testing policy, \u00a0will include –<\/p>\n