The British Chambers of Commerce has urged the government to provide affordable coronavirus tests for companies (Danny Lawson/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has called on the government to provide cheap Covid-19 tests and clearer guidance on how businesses can cope with soaring infections as state support is rolled back.
The industry body, which represents more than 70,000 companies in the UK, said members were “still struggling to get ahead” and were still reporting employee absence rates of up to 20%. Advice from the government on how to protect vulnerable staff and customers, including pregnant women, is still “far too vague”, the BCC said.
It came as new figures from the Office for National Statistics showed a record 4.9 million people in the UK had Covid-19 last week.
Free testing through lateral flow devices ends today for the general public. Free tests will now only be available to people at risk of serious illness from coronavirus, those eligible for treatments, NHS and adult social care staff, and others in high-risk settings.
Privately purchased lateral flow tests will average £2 for a single test and £10 for a packet of five when purchased from high street chemists or supermarkets, under the government’s ‘Living with Covid’ plans.
Hannah Essex, co-executive director of the BCC, said: “If government is not prepared to provide tests for the workplace, then it must at least look to secure low-cost options for hard-pressed firms who are already facing a rising costs crisis.
“Business leaders are keen to get back to pre-pandemic trading conditions and full capacity in the workplace, but they are worried about their legal responsibilities and liabilities once the working safely guidance is removed and replaced with general public health guidance.”
Businesses need “crystal clear guidance”, especially smaller firms who don’t have their own human resources departments to help them manage these sorts of issues.
“For many firms, ‘Living with Covid’ really means living with disruption,” Essex said. “One positive covid case in a workplace has the potential to be hugely disruptive if it causes several other colleagues to become ill and need time off work.”
Separate data from the ONS today showed vaccinations rates are lowest in the accommodation and food service sector (61.7%) and construction industry (66.2%).
