Resolving absence – update

The government has put in place a number of measures to help resolve absence issues in England resulting from employees being advised to self-isolate for up to 10 days, following notification from the Test and Trace App that they had been in close contact with someone reporting a positive COVID-19 test result.

• Changes to the app ‘logic’ - Fewer contacts will be notified by the NHS COVID-19 app if someone tests positive. The app will now look back at contacts two days prior to an asymptomatic positive test rather than five. See here for more details
• Daily contact testing is being rolled out to critical workplaces at supermarket depots and food manufacturers’ sites. It will comprise around 500 food supply chain sites in England. It will mean that workers who are alerted by the app or contacted by NHS Test and Trace will be able to continue working if they test negative, whether or not they are vaccinated. Further details are available by contacting DEFRA
• Reasonable excuse for named individuals - In the small number of situations where the self-isolation of close contacts would result in serious disruption to critical services, a limited number of named workers may be able to leave self-isolation under specific controls for the purpose of undertaking critical work only. Further details are available here. The government has provided updated guidance on how to request a ‘reasonable excuse’ letter. See here for more details

DEFRA is keeping under review absence levels in all parts of the food supply chain and is requesting businesses complete this absence tracking survey as frequently as possible.

All adults who have been fully vaccinated will no longer have to self-isolate if they are identified as close contacts of someone with COVID-19 from the following dates:

• Wales 7 August
• Scotland 9 August
• England 16 August

The Northern Ireland Executive is due to meet next week to look at requirements for self-isolating.

Product availability and shopper stockpiling research

Despite the operational challenges due to labour shortages, there are sufficient food supplies within the system and the impact on availability has been limited to date.

In the latest shopper research conducted for IGD over the weekend of 30 July-1 August 2021, fewer shoppers (48% vs 55% 28-29 July) are experiencing availability issues for various food and grocery categories.

Fewer adults (27%) have recently felt the need to stock up or purchase more than they normally do, down from 33% on 28-29 July.

See the full results here.

Shopper confidence update

Latest research from IGD’s shopper confidence index reveals that shopper confidence remained at -3 in July. This is still one of the highest levels recorded in the last five years. Full details will be available here for ShopperVista subscribers in the next few days.

Download our free report ‘Viewpoint: As the economy revers, what new challenges are emerging? here to understand more about the shopper landscape as well as risks to the recovery and government priorities.

Imports of products of animal origin update

From 1 October products of animal origin and all regulated plants and plant products will require pre-notification and health documentation to be imported into the UK.

Register here for a series of webinars with panel of experts.

See the Key dates for UK-EU transition and support for businesses