Jaguar Land Rover orders staff to turn OFF Test & Trace app to stop them having to isolate ‘unnecessarily’
- Halewood factory staff told to pause Test and Trace app to stop ‘false positives’
- The company has had a number of Covid outbreaks, most recently in September
- Advice to staff follows Test and Trace app guidance issued on the NHS’ website
Jaguar Land Rover has ordered staff at its Liverpool plant to turn off the Government’s Test and Trace app to stop them having to isolate ‘unnecessarily’.
Workers at the car manufacturer’s Halewood plant received an email on Wednesday warning the app’s algorithm could be generating ‘false positive,’ alerts.
It is a legal requirement to self-isolate if told to do so by the NHS Test and Trace app.
However, the company has told its staff to pause the app, as it feels it is not factoring in the social distancing measures already in place at the plant.
The email reads: ‘We have had some instances recently where colleagues may have had a false positive notification through the NHS Covid-19 app, meaning they have had to self isolate at home, for 14 days – unable to attend work and unable to leave their home.’
Jaguar Land Rover has told its workers to pause the Test and Trace app while at its Halewood plant in Liverpool, to prevent ‘false positve’ alerts
It then gives an example of a potential mistake, explaining that if the app was left on in a phone which was inside a locker next to someone else’s, you could be told to isolate if that person later tests positive for coronavirus.
Jaguar Land Rover added: ‘We are therefore making a change in our recommendation of the use of the app on our JLR sites.
‘To support in preventing false contact around walls, fixed screens and partitions, please pause the contact tracing within the app when you are on JLR premises.
‘Contact tracing can be temporarily disabled within the NHS Covid-19 app.’
Jaguar Land Rover has been hit by a number of coronavirus outbreaks during the pandemic, most recently in September, when four workers at its Solihull plant tested positive for the virus.
The email describes two scenarios when staff should be turning off the contact tracing part of the NHS app.
It said: ‘As a minimum, there are some specific scenarios in which the NHS advises you must pause the app, to avoud instances of false positives.
‘Please do remember to turn contact tracing back on when your leave your place of work.’
Advice issued to staff at the Halewood plant (pictured), followed NHS guidance to pause the app if working behind a Perspex screen, or if a worker leaves their phone in a locker or communal area
The NHS’ Covid-19 website says workers can pause the Test and Trace app when they are working behind a Perspex screen and are fully protected from others.
It can also be paused if a phone is stored in a locker or communal area.
Health and social care workers are allowed to, if they are wearing medical grade PPE.
It can also be paused if they are working in a hospital or GP surgery.