Covid-19 - Managing employee leave
With covid-19 or coronavirus now being upgraded to a pandemic, business owners may be wondering how to deal with the impact this may have upon their employees and leave. The short answer is that if an employee has or is suspected to have coronavirus, you should treat them as if they were away from work due to any other illness. However, as we all could of guessed.. it isn't quite that simple.
Sick leave and carer's leave for employees
If your full-time or part-time employees cannot come to work because they are sick, they take paid sick leave. Similarly, if an employee has a family member who is sick, they are entitled to take paid carer's leave. If they have none left, they can take unpaid sick leave or carer's leave.
Casual employees are not entitled to paid sick leave. All casual employees are allowed 2 days unpaid carer's leave per situation.
As an employer, you are entitled to ask for evidence of illness or emergency.
What if my employee is stuck overseas or needs to be quarantined?
In short, the Fair Work Act does not cover these kinds of situations. If you have an employee who is stuck overseas or has returned and needs to be quarantined, you will have to come to your own arrangement. This may include the employee taking sick leave/annual leave or the employer deciding to allow unpaid sick leave.
What if I want my employees to stay home?
As an employer, you have a duty to ensure the health and safety of your employees and others within the workplace, as far as is reasonably practical. If one of your employees has come in contact with someone who has coronavirus, you should request they gain medical clearance from a doctor and they not work during the risk period, or work from home where possible.
As an employer, you need to consider your obligations under any applicable employment contracts, modern awards, enterprise agreements and workplace policies.
What if my employees want to stay home?
If your employee wants to stay home as a precaution against coronavirus, the normal leave application process is applicable. An employee may:
- Request to work from home
- Take paid or unpaid leave (e.g. annual leave, personal leave, long service leave)
Watch this space
There has been discussion about employees being forced to take their annual leave to deal with the coronavirus. PM Scott Morrison has suggested that there is an expectation for employers to have their staff use annual leave during any periods of shutdown. However, a word of warning; think carefully before directing your employees to take annual leave. An employer cannot force their employee to take annual leave.
If you have any questions, get in contact with our business law team who can assist with advice on the impact the coronavirus pandemic may have upon your employee obligations, your business continuity planning and how your business could be impacted.
For more information visit these useful links:
- Department of Health: https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov
- Safe Work Australia: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-pcbus
- Work Safe Victoria: https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/safety-alerts/exposure-coronavirus-workplaces