The Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business sets out how COVID 19 restrictions will gradually be lifted. As different parts of the economy open at different times, I am aware of the fact that schools and creches have not yet re-opened and may cause some obstacles for workers with childcare responsibilities.
The Government has requested employers to be as flexible as possible in allowing staff time off to look after their children or other members of their families. Some of the flexible options include offering paid compassionate leave, allowing employees to work from home, altering shifts so that employees can coordinate caring between themselves and partners or another person, allowing employees to rearrange holidays and allowing employees to take paid time off that can be worked back at a later time.
Where it is not possible to make appropriate compassionate leave arrangements, employees may be able to call on some statutory entitlements including force majeure leave, parental leave together with parental benefit or carers leave together with carers benefit or carers allowance.
If a person has left work to care for a child because of school or childcare closures and the employer is no longer paying the person’s wages, they may qualify for the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
I trust that this clarifies the matter.
