As the government contradicts itself on ‘pings’, only the virus is laughing

Mixed messaging from business minister Paul Scully and co is opening the door for employers to tell staff to turn up to work – even if they’re instructed to self-isolate by the NHS app, writes James Moore

Unclear statements are compromising compliance to self-isolation rules (PA)

Could your employer haul you into work, even if you get pinged? Maybe they could if they took business minister Paul Scully at his word. On Tuesday morning, he appeared to say that the NHS Covid-19 app’s instructions were merely advisory.

Getting “pinged” doesn’t mean: “Stay home and isolate.” It simply allows people to make “informed decisions”, with the matter of whether to self-isolate or not left “up to individuals and employers”. You know, like it was for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak when they got pinged and decided they could still go to work, thanks to being on a pilot scheme that nobody had heard about, at least until a public firestorm forced a rapid U-turn.

No 10 swiftly slapped the minister down, saying it was “crucial” to self-isolate. But here’s the problem: the confused and contradictory messaging has surely given the impression that this is up for debate.

Consider Jon Smith, who works for a metal basher in the West Midlands, the sort of manufacturer whose operations are taking a severe hit at the moment because half of its workforce is self-isolating. He’s a conscientious type who has the app and has even heeded Boris Johnson’s “be careful” plea, after the government abdicated its responsibilities to the individual.

Jon Smith: Sorry, boss, can’t come in. I got pinged today. Woke me up before my alarm had even gone off.

Boss (sighing heavily): Oh, FFS. Really? Really? You know what it’s like here, don’t you? You were there at the meeting when I told everyone to watch themselves. How did you manage to get caught?

Jon Smith: I dunno. I mean, maybe on the bus? I didn’t go anywhere else. I’ve been careful.

Boss: Did you wear a mask?

Jon Smith: Yeah. Seriously, boss, I took care.

Boss: Look, I have here a letter from Lord Grimstone saying the app is only an advisory tool, and I heard that business minister guy Paul Scully on the wireless saying it’s up to the two of us whether you come in or not. So, my advice to you is to haul your arse here.

Jon Smith: Yeah, but Downing Street said on the news that people have to isolate when they’re told to by the app, and that businesses are supposed to support employees.

Boss: Well, it’s like this, Jon. You told me you’ve had your first vaccination shot, and I can’t see how a single bus journey puts you at risk from the virus. What you should know is that we’ve got a strategic review under way, and you’re sure as hell at risk from that.

Jon Smith: Oh.

Boss: Yes. Oh.

Jon Smith: So I have to come in.

Boss: You got it. Here’s what you do. Delete the app, reinstall it and refresh it. You should be fine. If someone does chase you up by calling, tell them you’re at home and the noise at work is from a Michael Bay movie you’re watching on Netflix.

Jon Smith (sighing heavily): On my way. (Starts coughing)

Boss: You OK there, Jon? Jon?

Conversations of this kind were probably already taking place before the ministerial kerfuffle, which started when Scully was being interviewed on Times Radio. Some employers have conducted themselves in an exemplary manner throughout this crisis. Some haven’t. Some just have their backs against the wall right now, and when people get desperate…

The problem with the interview and the letter is that they have surely opened the door to more of them, regardless of what Downing Street said after the event.

The pingdemic has clearly created a problem, with a substantial proportion of the British workforce now isolating to the extent that NHS workers have had to be given an out. Double-jabbed front-line staff in the health service and social care staff in England will be permitted to work “in exceptional circumstances and where additional safety measures can be upheld”, even if they’ve been pinged.

With businesses starting to close premises, shops reducing their hours and talk of shortages that may include medical supplies (there was a shortage of lorry drivers before this got going), there is clearly an issue here, created by the government’s reckless decision to drop all restrictions at a time when cases were exploding.

Addressing it requires careful thought, preferably with someone like Chris Whitty in the room. Instead, we have a chaotic melange of nudges and winks and swift reversals.

The chief beneficiary of all this is microscopic and highly infectious. If the virus could laugh and had sides, it’d be splitting them right now.