I developed a cough and fever last month and immediately felt fearful.

Not because I was particularly worried about my own health if it was coronavirus, but because I was nervous about what my employer would say about me missing work.

I work in the food processing industry and when I’ve taken time off work due to illness in the past, my employer was less than pleasant about it. In fact, he was both dismissive and displeased.

So when I eventually called my boss to tell him that I was presenting with coronavirus symptoms, I was met with the same disdainfulness. I was appalled that, as a key worker, I was being made to feel like my concerns weren’t being heard.

When I reminded my boss that the Government advice is to self-isolate if you have a fever, cough, or lost a sense of smell or taste, he gave me his usual vitriol. 

‘It’s nothing’, ‘just get over it’ and ‘don’t be so pathetic’, he scowled and scolded.

I was made to feel worthless and like a commodity; robbed of the feeling of individual worth that makes us human.

It was fruitless. He didn’t believe I could potentially put colleagues at risk if I came into work and dismissed my concerns about risking the safety of others. It truly felt like he couldn’t fathom that this was his problem as much as it was mine.

Despite my boss telling me to come in to work, I decided to follow the Government’s advice and self-isolate.

The alternative was unbearable: how can anyone else’s life be worth my low salary, which is way below the average? I would gladly take unemployment to protect others. 

Things escalated when I received threatening calls to come into work, during my very first day of self-isolation. When I would pick up the phone, he would yell things like ‘Do you have any idea what will happen if you don’t come in?’ and ‘You may not have a job to come back to’.

Hearing this just added insult to my injury. It was the last thing I needed as I was suffering from a chronic cough and hellish fever. I remember thinking, ‘If Covid-19 didn’t keep me up at night, these threats certainly will’. 

I tried to book a coronavirus test but I had to wait several days until one was available. Sure enough, the result returned as positive.

Despite telling my boss about my positive result, he told me to come in. I refused and the next two weeks of self-isolation were incredibly hard.

The constant threats from my employer and the arduousness of my self-isolation has me convinced that I, most likely, will lose my job if I develop symptoms again

My employer didn’t provide sick leave – they have previously been difficult and awkward providing the basic right – so I had to rely on the Government’s £94.25 a week statutory sick pay.

Many of us don’t have the luxury of falling back on savings; instead, me and many others like me get by cutting back on essentials: less food, less warmth. The entire process was an ordeal.

Returning to work was difficult. I wasn’t formally reprimanded for choosing to self-isolate but it felt awkward being back.

My colleagues and I never dared expressed our dismay against our employer during work hours, but we all agreed that it was wrong what they were doing to us. What could we say though? We need to keep our jobs.

The TUC reports 50% of workers on a salary akin to mine would choose their livelihoods over risking the lives of others. But why put anyone in that situation in the first place?

The Government needs to do more so that low-income households like mine feel financially able to self-isolate if they need to.

This starts with the Government providing a more financially generous incentive to self-isolate. Employers must also be more understanding to give flexibility to their employees.

I didn’t go to the police because I was scared of the ramifications and I didn’t know what would be done – but knowing what I do now, I would encourage employees in a similar boat to report their employers. Companies who don’t follow the law should be disciplined.

Despite what my boss put me through, I deeply sympathise with all the good employers struggling in the current climate.

The constant threats from my employer and the arduousness of my self-isolation has me convinced that I, most likely, will lose my job if I develop symptoms again.

This painful experience and lack of consideration for my life and the lives of others by my callous employer desperately makes me want to hand in my notice.

The unfortunate reality is that in the current job market, the likelihood of that happening is slim.

This is reality many of us face: keeping quiet and continuing. No one should be put in that position.

As told to Jatinder Hayre.

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