Peninsula sees calls to HR advice line increase 50% over Coronavirus concerns

Irish employment law consultancy, Peninsula, has seen a 50% increase in calls to its 24-hour HR advice line following the first diagnosis of coronavirus in Ireland. Employers are calling in to seek urgent advice on how best to manage and prepare their workplace for COVID—19.

Peninsula acts as an HR hotline for over 7,000 businesses across the island of Ireland and over the past week has received hundreds of calls from worried employers about the coronavirus outbreak. Due to the influx of requests, the Peninsula advisory team has prepared a comprehensive FAQ document for its clients in addition to providing 24/7 telephone support. Employer queries have been broad and have ranged from whether they need to pay employees who self-isolate, to questions about temporary layoff due to a downturn in work, harassment of workers suspected of having flu symptoms, to remote working practices.

Commenting on how employers can help prepare staff and the workplace for coronavirus, Alan Hickey, Associate Director of Advisory at Peninsula, said:

“Despite growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, it is important not to act too hastily in responding to it. While we may see an increasing number of companies exploring new ways to prevent the spread of the virus, such as closing offices and banning all forms of physical contact like handshakes, it should be remembered that the risk of contracting the virus in Ireland remains relatively low.

“However, employers should bear several areas in mind.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs advises against all non-essential travel to China. Employers should consider alternatives, which may include postponing a business trip until the risk of infection no longer exists, or carrying out meetings via Skype or video conferencing, where possible.

“If an individual has recently travelled back from affected areas like Iran and parts of Northern Italy, the government is currently advising that they self-isolate even if no symptoms are present. There is no obligation to pay an employee who is not sick but cannot come to work because they have been told by a medical expert to self-isolate, or have had to go into quarantine. However, due to the circumstances, employers may decide to maintain payment to the individual, particularly if they were in an affected area on business. If employees who fall into this category attempt to come to work, they should be reminded of these instructions and instructed to go home for the stated period.

“Alternatively, the employee could be allowed to take this period as annual leave or provided the opportunity to work from home while they see if they do start to show symptoms.

“If an employee comes down with flu symptoms and thinks they may have come into contact with an infected person, they should be advised to contact the Department of Public Health on 1850 24 1850 and to follow the advice received.

“If an employee refuses to work with a colleague who has returned from an affected area or is worried about catching the virus and so refuses to attend work, organisations should listen to the employee’s concerns and offer reassurance. An employer’s response to this will depend on the actual risk of catching the virus and will depend on the specific circumstances including whether anyone in the workforce has already been diagnosed or there is another real risk of exposure. Employers may decide to offer a period of paid annual leave or unpaid leave, or allow the employee to work from home where this is feasible. Responses should be proportionate to the specific situation.

“If a business experiences a downturn in trade, it may be able to lay off staff without pay provided there is a specific term permitting layoff without pay in the employment contract. You may be obliged to provide full pay during a period of temporary layoff in the absence of a term in the contract allowing lay off without pay. If there’s no specific term in a business’s employment contracts allowing lay off without pay, the employer may need to reach an agreement with the employees before imposing a period of unpaid layoff.

“A contingency plan for increased levels of absence is also recommended. Employers will likely have to prepare for higher than normal levels of absence in their business to deal with self-isolation, sickness absence or parents who need time off work because their child’s school has closed”.