..

The Ministry have now removed the Covid-19 rules requirement to isolate for 7 days.  Changes took effect Tuesday 15th August.  This means the Covid-19Leave Support Scheme is no longer in place for those testing positive.

An employee who has tested positive for Covid-19 should not be permitted into the work place due to risk of spreading the virus.  The employer and employee may need to consider what other options are available.

• Taking paid sick leave;
• Taking unpaid sick leave;
• Working from home (if the employee is able to);
• Taking sick leave in advance of entitlement;
• Annual leave by agreement.

Medical Certificates

An employer can request a medical certificate from an employee who has tested positive for Covid-19.  As the Ministry of Health still wish RAT test results to be reported, submissions of a positive result will receive an SMS acknowledgement from the official 2328 or 2648 phone numbers to confirm the positive result.  An employer could accept this as proof that the employee has Covid-19 if they choose.