At the first sign of Covid symptoms it is essential to stay at home and self isolate in line with NHS guidelines.
This is to keep ourselves safe, our families safe, our colleagues safe, and even strangers safe. It's even to keep the boss safe, though chances are they will be working from home anyway.
LU has so far acted relatively responsibly. Due to union strength on the Tube, anybody isolating is on full pay and the item will not be part of the attendance at work disciplinary process. However, LU has now put out a document apparently changing their position stating: "If the employee feels unwell and has not taken a test, or has a negative test result, normal sickness absence arrangements apply from the date the employee began to feel unwell."
At worst this means that LU is now threatening to discipline us when we do the right thing by acting cautiously and isolating. At best it is badly written. Regardless, the result could be that Tube workers ignore symptoms in the hope it is just a seasonal cold, as they don't want to risk a warning under the Attendance At Work policy, and put others at risk of catching Covid.
We understand our unions are already responding to this issue. LU must do the right thing and sort this out quickly.
