BACK TO WORK FACTSHEET FOR EMPLOYERS - Q&A's

RMcH states: Following the announcement of the government’s Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, employers have a lot of questions about the best way to get staff back to work safely. Here an employment law expert answers some of these complex HR and health & safety questions, remember it is always best to get your own independent advice when it comes to Employment Law in Ireland!!

Back to work factsheet for employers  Q&A's  First published 19th May 2020 at 5.50pm. 

Q: As lockdown measures are now being lifted to allow more people to return to work, we may need some of our employees, but not all, to return. How do we decide who to bring back first?

A: This will likely be the case for most businesses either due to workload or the implementation of health and safety measures. First and foremost, you should consider the needs of the business and which departments would need to return first.

If you need to select between individuals in the same or a similar job role, the decision should be based on objective criteria. Any decisions should be documented so you can justify your decision-making process if someone raises the concern that they have been discriminated against.

Q: I’ve heard that social distancing measures will still be in place when we start to return people back to the workplace. What measures do we have to take?

A: All measures contained in the Return to Work Safely Protocol should be complied with on returning to work. You need to work with your Lead Worker Representative on developing safe workplace procedures and confirming a COVID-19 response plan. Although government guidance is subject to change, it is likely that social distancing (keeping 2 metres apart) will still be in place for some time. Therefore, you will need to space out desks and consider walkways around the building and where the entrances and exits are. It is also likely that you may need to stagger working hours and alternate days of work to comply with the workplace protocol.

Depending on the nature of your business, you may need to consider a range of measures including the installation of plexiglass shields or other barriers, protocols for the use of lifts, closing down smaller common areas or marking appropriate distances, and providing hand sanitiser.

Q: Some of my employees self-isolated prior to lockdown and I am aware that one employee was living with someone who was symptomatic. How do I check if my employees are fit to return to work?

A: The Return to Work Safely Protocol requires you to issue a form to employees asking them to confirm their health status at least 3 days before they return to work.

Employees who contracted or who have been exposed to the virus may be able to gain confirmation of their fitness to work through forms or emails from local clinics. You can ask your employee if they’ve been symptomatic or if they’re a close contact of someone who is symptomatic, to establish whether they have followed government guidance with regards to self-isolation. If the isolation period has passed, they should be able to return to work.

In determining whether an employee may return to work, questions should be limited to establishing symptoms related to COVID-19. Any questions that are unrelated, such as asking about underlying medical conditions or symptoms not associated with COVID-19, should be avoided.

Employers may ask, for the purposes of determining whether an employee should be permitted to remain at home, that employees certify that they have an underlying health condition that heightens their risk of harm if they were to contract COVID-19.

Q: With social distancing expected to remain in place, will we be required to reduce our employees’ hours of work?

A: It is expected that employers will be required to stagger work hours and shifts to assist with social distancing and ease congestion on public transport. Similarly, alternating days of work for different groups of teams may also be considered. SEE BELOW

The full extent of what measures are required will be subject to ongoing guidance but if it is possible to achieve social distancing through staggered hours and other arrangements like home working, you may not necessarily need to reduce staff hours.

Remember, employment laws require agreement from staff when you make amendments to terms and conditions, even if only on a temporary basis. You should speak with employees first and explain the proposed changes and the reason for these changes. You will likely need to take your employees’ individual circumstances into consideration when agreeing to appropriate changes to working hours.

Q: We were in the process of recruiting prior to the lockdown and need to pick that back up. Is it safe to arrange interviews?

A: As restrictions start to lift, it may be possible to hold in-person interviews as long as you are able to ensure social distancing measures for attendees. You would need to set clear guidance ahead of the interview so the candidate is aware of the measures in place.

Although it may be possible, you should still consider whether virtual interviews and on-boarding are more appropriate to reduce the number of in-person interactions.

Q: One of my employees has advised me that they will not return to work over the next few weeks, even though restrictions have lifted to allow us to return. How do we manage this?

A: The right way to manage this depends on the situation. But the first step should be to discuss the matter with your employee to understand their reasons for not returning. Many employees may be anxious about the prospect of returning to work at first and safety will be a priority for them.

You should inform all employees that you have made an assessment of the risks and implemented appropriate measures in line with government guidance. This should help to reassure any anxious employees that you aren’t putting them at risk by asking them to return to work.

Q: Some of my employees are unable to return to work because they can’t arrange childcare. What are their entitlements and how should I handle this?

A: As many childcare facilities are closed and family carers unavailable, many employees may be impacted. Where employees can carry out some (or perhaps all) of their duties from home, this should be allowed. While they’re working from home, you should pay them as normal.

Where employees are unable to work from home, they should be encouraged to make alternative childcare arrangements, but this will not be possible for all employees. You should consider temporary flexible working arrangements to adjust or reduce working hours, and change working times to assist employees in managing work and childcare responsibilities in line with requests, and implement this if possible. Parental leave (unpaid), parent’s leave (available to parents of infants under one), as well as paid annual leave, may also provide a solution at least in the short-term.

Consistency is key to avoid setting unmanageable precedents and in the circumstances, where the situation is so uncertain, employees should be informed that any measures implemented are temporary and cannot be maintained indefinitely.

Q: I need to reorganise my business which may also result in redundancies. What do I need to consider?

A: If you believe the reorganisation will only be temporary, the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme and lay-off or short-time working may be considered subject to the terms of your employment contracts.

Employees who have been laid off are not permitted to claim redundancy before May 31^st and this prohibition may be extended. Employees on short-time working will receive the Short Time Work Support in line with their hours worked.

You may also consider temporarily redeploying employees to other parts of the business if employees are agreeable and can be trained. If these options are not feasible you may need to consider whether the role is redundant and commence the redundancy consultation process. Redeployment should also be considered throughout this process.

A final thought…

It’s important to think carefully about any situation linked with the coronavirus outbreak before you make any decisions that impact your staff. If you have any doubts, seek employment law advice.

Return to work: Why it’s important to stagger shift times

Now that the government has started to ease lockdown restrictions across Ireland, you might be planning to reopen your business soon.

But before you do, you need to think carefully about how you’re going to keep a safe two-metre distance between people. One thing you could try is staggering staff shifts…

How do you stagger shifts?

It’s simple really. Instead of your employees working their normal hours, you alternate their start and end times so that they don’t all arrive and leave work at the same time.

So say you’ve got a team of ten people, instead of having them all work from 9am to 5pm, you might split them up into three groups. One group starts at 8am, another starts at 8.30am and well, you get the idea…

By spreading your staff’s start times like this, you help to make sure there are fewer people in your business at any one time—meaning that it’s easier for your people to keep two metres apart.

Do I have to stagger shift times?

No, you don’t have to. But it’s one of several options under the government’s new Return to Work Safely Protocol and it may be an effective way to allow your business to comply with social distancing measures.  

The government also recommends letting a smaller number of workers return initially and letting staff complete shift work. To learn what else the government recommends for business owners like you, head to the gov.ie website.

What’s the easiest way for me to plan staggered shifts?

Simply use the rota planner to create tailored shifts for each of your employees. Then, use A rota calendar to review the shifts and make sure there’s enough space between each one.