Respirators help reduce the spread of airborne infections
See how masks reduce respiratory particles released into shared air, helping limit airborne transmission and protect both the wearer and people nearby.
Read more
Table of Contents
Overview
The North West Long Covid‑19 Charter was produced by the North West Trade Union Covid Action Group to advise trade union representatives, health and safety reps and workers on Long Covid. It aims to raise awareness of the condition, outline workers’ legal rights and provide model demands that unions can make of employers. Version 5 (July 2024) is part of a series of charters first issued in 2022 and responds to the continued health emergency and perceived failure of government and employers to protect workers.
Why Long Covid demands action
| The charter notes that thousands of workers infected by Covid‑19 have been left with long‑term ill‑health that can disable them regardless of how mild their initial infection was. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) defines Long Covid as either ongoing symptomatic Covid (4–12 weeks) or post‑Covid syndrome (symptoms beyond 12 weeks). Symptoms include fatigue, headaches, breathlessness, brain fog, nausea, organ damage and mental‑health problems, and many people experience relapses or new symptoms months after infection. |
| An Employment Tribunal has ruled that Long Covid may be classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2010, meaning employers must consider this in disability discrimination cases and provide reasonable adjustments. The charter emphasises that employers must comply with equality and health‑and‑safety laws. |
| Surveys cited in the charter show that support for Long Covid workers is inadequate: 68 % of health workers surveyed had returned to work while still suffering symptoms such as breathlessness, fatigue and brain fog; 8 % were too ill to return; 46 % said employer support declined over time, and a small minority faced formal absence hearings or the threat of dismissal. The charter argues that punitive sickness policies force ill workers back to work and can be discriminatory. |
| It acknowledges that women and Black workers have been disproportionately exposed to Covid‑19 due to the jobs they do, systemic racism and sexism and a lack of personal protective equipment. These workers have experienced higher infection rates, more repeated infections and greater mortality. Employers must therefore carry out Equality Impact Assessments and address structural inequalities when dealing with Long Covid. |
Charter demands for employers
The charter sets out Employer Charter Commitments that unions can use as bargaining points. Key demands include those set below.
| 1. Engage with trade unions and workers: Employers should involve safety and equality representatives in Long Covid prevention and management planning and make Long Covid a standing agenda item on safety committees. |
| 2. Control infection and re‑infection risks: Carry out organisational and individual Covid risk assessments, improve ventilation, maintain infection controls and establish Long Covid assessments. |
| 3. Identify infection levels: Provide free lateral‑flow tests, record and map positive cases, share infection‑rate data with workers and unions, and sign and display the Covid Safety Pledge. |
| 4. Support Long Covid adjustment requests: Treat requests for adjustments reasonably; work with union reps to identify eligible staff; agree timescales and ensure adjustments are in place before any return to work. |
| 5. Prioritise symptom‑focused adjustments: Offer flexible hours, remote working, reduced workload, redeployment, physical changes to the workspace, assistive equipment or alternative roles to meet individual needs. |
| 6. Provide supportive rehabilitation programmes: Use phased return‑to‑work plans that prioritise reducing relapses. Support medical appointments, disability leave and Access to Work grants; use occupational‑health services to establish a reasonable‑adjustment passport and ensure individual risk assessments accompany return‑to‑work discussions. |
| 7. Avoid punitive policies: Do not take disciplinary action or count Covid‑related sickness towards absence triggers; suspend performance management for Long Covid absences; support workers caring for people with Long Covid. |
| 8. Work collaboratively with unions: Identify occupational exposure and discrimination cases, and audit infection rates, staff shortages, risk‑assessment coverage and reasonable‑adjustment uptake. |
| 9. Inform, educate and instruct: Provide accurate information on infection control; educate staff about ventilation and air quality; and instruct workers on proper use of high‑filtration masks and other public‑health measures. |
Legal rights and guidance
| Appendix 1 offers a checklist of questions to help workers and unions pursue personal injury claims when they believe workplace negligence caused Covid infection. Questions cover exposure, workplace controls, whether mitigations (ventilation, air filtration, PPE and remote working) were in place and whether the employer breached their duty of care. |
| Appendix 3 lists questions for assessing employer mitigation measures, such as whether a Covid‑19 risk assessment exists and is reviewed; whether ventilation and air filtration have been improved and monitored; whether physical distancing and CO₂ monitors are used; and whether remote working or hybrid work has been introduced. |
| Appendix 4 summarises disability discrimination law. Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favourably because of disability; indirect discrimination occurs when a policy disadvantages disabled workers; discrimination arising from disability occurs when a worker is treated unfavourably because of something resulting from their disability. Employers must make reasonable adjustments (e.g., adjust hours, reallocate duties, provide interpreters or equipment) and must not harass or victimise disabled workers. |
| Appendix 5 explains whistleblowing law. Whistleblowing is reporting illegal or dangerous activity at work; workers are protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. To be protected, a worker must reasonably believe the disclosure is true, believe wrongdoing has occurred or is likely to occur, and make the disclosure via the correct channels. Whistleblowers are legally protected from unfair treatment or dismissal and can bring a claim at an employment tribunal. |
| Appendix 6 discusses Occupational Health Services (OHS). It quotes the World Health Organization definition of occupational health, emphasising promoting and maintaining the physical, mental and social well‑being of workers and highlighting the need for OHS to take a preventative, advisory role. The appendix notes problems with current practice (e.g., unqualified assessors, telephone‑only assessments and employer‑focused reports) and calls for employers to use competent, SEQOHS‑registered assessors. It provides guidance on preparing for an occupational health assessment, using a reasonable‑adjustment passport, challenging inaccurate reports and ensuring no disciplinary action is taken while assessments are pending. |
| Appendix 7 provides a Sickness and Absence (S&A) checklist. It highlights that poor S&A policies punish ill workers and calls for policies centred on health and injury prevention. The checklist advises workers to know how the policy operates, understand and use sick notes, support long‑term illnesses, record adjustments using a reasonable‑adjustment passport, attend medical appointments without loss of pay, consider alternative working arrangements (e.g., remote working) and ensure occupational health support is activated. Workers should know the financial implications of absence, protect their sick leave (not working while off sick), and insist employers control workplace reinfection through paid leave and safety measures. HR and management should be trained in Long Covid; absence records should be monitored for patterns; and union representation should be present at all return‑to‑work meetings. |
Resource links and concluding remarks
The charter closes with links to trade unions, Long Covid support groups and further reading, including guidance on sickness absence and sick pay and research briefings on Long Covid (February 2024 research briefing).
Key take‑aways
| Recognition and rights: Long Covid can qualify as a disability, giving workers legal rights to reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 and requiring employers to provide safe workplaces. |
| Prevention and mitigation: Employers must work with unions to reduce infection risk through ventilation, air filtration, monitoring infection rates and risk assessments; punitive absence policies should be abolished. |
| Supportive adjustments: Long Covid workers need flexible working arrangements, phased returns, rehabilitation programmes, occupational health support and reasonable‑adjustment passports. |
| Fair absence management: Sickness and absence policies should protect health, allow paid sick leave and ensure no worker is disciplined or disadvantaged due to Covid‑related illness; union representation during sickness management discussions is essential. |
| Resources and advocacy: The charter provides checklists and legal guidance to help workers pursue personal injury or discrimination claims, challenge unsafe practices and obtain occupational health support; it also directs readers to unions and support groups for further help and collective action. |
Overall, the North West Long Covid‑19 Charter is a comprehensive resource that combines legal guidance, practical checklists and strategic demands to ensure workplaces are safe and supportive for workers living with Long Covid. Download the document by clicking here.
