Coronavirus

For latest info on the situation, please see links below.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ - Cough or temperature, now stay at home for 7 days.

Of course, there is now talk about schools closing which will have an impact on staffing.

If parents have to stay at home during the closure, they will not be entitled to any payment during that time. As with any emergency they will be entitled to take emergency leave to care for a dependent but this is limited to a couple of days. They should try and make alternative arrangements and if they can’t (which is likely at the moment) you may want to consider allowing holiday, working from home (if appropriate) and off course authorised unpaid leave - https://www.gov.uk/time-off-for-dependants
If the parent displays symptoms or has to self isolate then the normal sickness process would take place ( your company policy or SSP)

Working from home

If you are able to allow staff to work from home and don’t currently have a policy in place, you may want to consider it.

Lone Working

I would envisage that smaller companies may have an issue with lone working due to absence – again, please consider it during these unusual times.

Lay – Off and short time working

If you are struggling and your contracts/handbook allows you to then you may want to look at lay – offs. Please see the link for the statutory guidelines, especially regarding length of time ( before an employee can request redundancy) and payments required. https://www.gov.uk/lay-offs-short-timeworking

Redundancy

Hopefully, you won’t be in this situation, but if you are please contact me, to discuss further. https://www.gov.uk/staff-redundant/redundancy-pay

I hope this information is useful, if you need any further guidance or support, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thanks

Jan

J A Gill

Director

Diversity Business Services Ltd

07968 325271

Human Resources