The SoR has welcomed the decision of The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) to recommend that health and social care workers experiencing long term symptoms following covid should be able to claim industrial injuries benefit.
The council ‘prescribes’ diseases where there is seen to be a link between them and the job role undertaken.
The Society’s health and safety policy officer Rhys Martin said: "This is a good first step to support those health and social care workers who are still suffering with the effects of long covid related illnesses. It is imperative now that the government puts in place IIAC’s recommendations as soon as possible to provide support to our members. We also believe as a union that long covid should be named as a disability under the Equality Act in order for our members to have further workplace protection from their important job roles.
"We also stand with unions in other UK sectors campaigning to be covered by industrial injuries benefit for long covid because it is clear that numerous workers from the outbreak of the pandemic are still struggling with this disease. The Society will continue to fully support members in any work related processes linked to long covid related absence from work, and will push back against over-zealous sickness absence procedures initiated against our members."
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