Jul 28th, 2021
5 mins
Government recently announced the introduction of a process that members in England could adopt to keep employees, that have been ‘pinged’ by the Test and Trace system, working.
This involves the setting up of a Daily Contact Testing (DCT) system.
Initially 500 selected companies were contacted by the Track and Trace administration and invited to apply to set up a DCT. Despite many requests we do not know which BFFF members were on the list.
To kick off the process a Webinar was held on Monday and daily thereafter. For any member who was not able to watch the webinars. We have provided a written summary, plus a copy of the slides and questions posed in the chat function. All of these documents can be accessed by clicking the links below:
Screenshots of slides and questions DCT webinar 26.07.21
Webinar Daily Contact Testing Introduction 26.07.21
Members who have not been contacted can apply to be added to the list by emailing Defra on this email address:
COVID19.Coordinationunit.Agrifoodchain@defra.gov.uk.
However, as we understand it the rules in England on self-isolation for some people (double vaccinated) will change on 16th August 2021.
In Wales, we have heard that self-isolation rules will not be introduced. However, they could move to Alert Level Zero in early August were the government aims to remove the requirement for people who have been fully vaccinated to self-isolate if they are a close contact of someone who has tested positive.
In Scotland, the First Minister recently announced new guidance in Scotland which included the food and transport industries with strict conditions, this requires applications through the Scottish Government website (below). Employees must be double-vaccinated, with the second dose at least two weeks previously. They will need to have a negative PCR test and agree to daily lateral flow tests. Exemptions only apply to staff who voluntarily agree not to self-isolate.
https://www.gov.scot/news/self-isolation-rules/
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland have confirmed there is no Daily Contact Testing policy, to specifically deal with absences resulting from being pinged from the app or contacts from Test & Trace
There is a separate system where companies can apply for named individuals to be exempt from the self-isolation rules if they are contacted by the Track and Trace system. The details of this scheme can be accessed via the following link:
The process to request a reasonable excuse letter and submission request form is contained in the below link:
Defra request form_reasonable excuse letter
For those with queries in submitting this request form they should email Defra on emergencies@defra.gov.uk
