Essential Worker Exemption - Entering the UK

The Home Secretary has announced the implementation of a mandatory 14 day quarantine period for anyone entering the UK on Friday, to ensure that transmission of the virus amongst the community continues to slow. There is an exemption for any essential workers that need to come into the UK to support the continued operation of the manufacturing sector.

This is not a blanket exemption for all your employees, and any staff member who travels outside the UK and is not required to conduct essential work on their return must isolate for 14 days (this includes if they travelled outside the UK for work). We would continue to advise you that all staff should follow the Foreign Office travel advice which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice 

There is a general exemption on hauliers, and additionally should you need to bring in workers from outside the UK to conduct essential work, they will be exempt from quarantine as per the exemption copied below:

"A worker with specialist technical skills, where those specialist technical skills are required for essential or emergency works (including commissioning, maintenance and repairs) to ensure the continued production and manufacture of goods in the UK."

The implementation date for England is the 8 June 2020.  The devolved administrations will be announcing their respective implementation dates shortly, although we expect the same exemptions to apply across the whole of the UK.

There are no additional conditions placed on your exempt workers except that they must ensure they are strictly following all government advice on social distancing, safer working and safer travelling, links to this advice are below;

• Social Distancing – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-alert-and-safe-social-distancing/staying-alert-and-safe-social-distancing
• Safer Working – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19  
• Safer Travelling – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers 

Workers who enter the country will need to be carrying a letter explaining why they are exempt. These letters will need to contain the following details;

• Name of worker (generic letters are not acceptable)
• Details of the work they are undertaking.
• Contact details for the company for which the essential work is being completed.

Further guidance on these letters (including a suggested template) will be shared by Government next week along with the full legal definitions under which your workers will be exempt. We would advise that you include in the letter the relevant legal exemption for your worker. If individuals are known to your company then you should distribute a letter directly to them. If you are contracting employees through another company, then the contractor can issue the letter.

Anyone entering the UK will also need to provide contact details and details of their visit on an online form before they travel. It is important to also note that your workers are NOT exempt from this measure and they will need to complete the form before they travel.

Further information on the policy and the exemptions will be published on gov.uk (www.gov.uk/uk-border-control)