What guidance is being issued by the Welsh Government to individuals with shielding letters to protect themselves from the Covid-19 infection, about the use of these letters as a sick note for their employers, including those who work in England where shielding is to be paused from 1 August 2020?
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for Wales has issued letters to people with advice about shielding measures and the Welsh Government has published guidance on the website at https://gov.wales/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-people-defined-on-medical-grounds-as-extremely-vulnerable-from-coronavirus-covid-19-html.
The CMO letter clearly states that people who are shielding do not need to get a fit note from their GP and the notification is acceptable as proof of entitlement to Statutory Sick Pay.
The advice in Wales remains that those who are shielding are not to go to their normal place of work and they should work from home, where this is possible, until 16 August. I would expect English employers to recognise that if our guidance remains unchanged, they should respect the validity of the CMO letter.