If an employee develops a fever, and now has a dry cough and shortness of breath they should be sent home ill. If you are concerned that this may the symptoms match those of coronavirus you should do the following;

1. Protecting the workforce
You are under a duty of care to protect your staff and to ensure that you provide a safe place of work.
You should send the employee home and inform them not to attend work and that seek advice from NHS 111 and if possible, to avoid going to their GP or a hospital to prevent the spread of the infection.

2. Medical advice
If the employee is advised by NHS 111 to self-isolate for 14 days you will not be required to obtain the usual medical evidence to verify the illness.
However, you can still ask the employee to keep in touch to see how they are and what medical advice they are following.

3. Sick pay
Employees who are currently off work ill, whether or not this is due to coronavirus, will be entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP) and contractual sick pay if this is your normal policy.

Can we close the workplace?
Under current guidelines it is not recommended that you close the workplace if there has been a suspected but not yet confirmed coronavirus case.
If the individual is confirmed to be infected, the local health protection team will contact you with advice.