The WRC recommended that a public body restore a worker’s Covid-19 paid leave record for 10 April to 4 August 2020 and pay any resulting salary arrears. The recommendation was dated 2 October 2023.
The worker, a staff nurse, said her employer first approved paid leave based on her GP’s advice that she should not work on the frontline. She said the employer later changed her record to certified sick leave without consulting her. The employer said she had not provided a consultant’s letter that it considered necessary to establish her status as a vulnerable healthcare worker.
The adjudication officer found that the employer had approved the leave based on the GP’s advice and had not told the worker that approval depended on further documentation. The officer also found that the relevant guidelines said a specialist’s letter could be provided, rather than making it mandatory. The WRC found that changing the record retrospectively and unilaterally was unfair and unreasonable. It recommended restoring the Covid-19 paid leave classification and paying any salary arrears arising from the change.