You have reminded Joan about the seriousness of the situation and what will happen if she is absent again on Friday. It works because Joan is there on the Friday – problem solved, or is it?

On the following Friday you notice Joan at lunch time sitting by herself looking flushed and ill. When you ask her what the problem is, she says that she feels quite sick. You refer her to the company Occupational Health & Wellbeing department (OH & W) who assesses Joan and promptly arranges for her to get a test for COVID-19.  You later find out that she had a fever, has since tested positive and must now stay off work to recover.

OH & W contacted your immediate line manager and raised some concern over the fact that Joan had told them she felt afraid that you would have dismissed her if she had stayed home ill. Now she is instructed to stay off work until clear of the virus and tests negative. 

The rest of your department – and any others who had come into contact with her – should also remain vigilant to the possibility of having had the virus passed on to them and, as a matter of precaution, your department and potentially the whole building should immediately self-isolate – or follow the current Governments COVID guidelines. 

You now have your whole department working from home, which raises issues to do with allocation of work and data protection as you don’t have the secure equipment for them to use, nor the policies or protocols for such work. See safe home working guidance here https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/insights/data-protection-tips-for-working-from-home/