Workers at the Japanese car manufacturing company have been disciplined following reports of false self-isolation alerts being used to obtain time off.
Nissan has confirmed that some members of staff at its Sunderland plant have been reprimanded after news of false self-isolation alerts circulating.
This was thought to have originated when a worker at the plant received a genuine message from the Test and Trace app, informing them to self-isolate.
However, this message was then allegedly passed around to various workers, making it appear as if they too should quarantine.
Initial reports suggested that up to 60 members of staff may have obtained false self-isolation screenshots although Nissan clarified that it was only a “small number of staff” involved in the incident.
Earlier this month, it was reported that up to 900 workers at the same Sunderland plant were isolating at home – over a tenth of Nissan’s workforce at the plant.
A spokesperson for the company stated:
Production in certain areas of the plant has been adjusted as we manage a number of staff being required to self-isolate following close contact with Covid-19.
The wellbeing of our team is our number one priority and we remain confident in the rigorous safety controls we have on site.
Make UK, which represents manufacturers in the UK, shared the views of various industry bodies by asking the Government to revisit their self-isolation policies sooner:
For some companies up to 20 per cent of the workforce is now isolating.
Government must re-visit the August date as an immediate priority as the situation is likely to get far worse with the lifting of restrictions.
From 16th August, double vaccinated people will no longer be legally required to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case.
Monica Sharma is an English Literature graduate from the University of Warwick. As Editor for HRreview, her particular interests in HR include issues concerning diversity, employment law and wellbeing in the workplace. Alongside this, she has written for student publications in both England and Canada. Monica has also presented her academic work concerning the relationship between legal systems, sexual harassment and racism at a university conference at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
