Republic of Ireland

The HSE has advised self-isolation where an employee has developed symptoms of coronavirus, is waiting to get tested, is waiting for test results, has any cold or flu-like symptoms or has coronavirus.

An employee who has developed symptoms should be on sick leave, and therefore not working.

If the employee is asymptomatic, it may be possible for the employer to ask the employee to work from home.

HSE criteria for self-isolation can be found here:

Northern Ireland

Public Health criteria for self-isolation can be found here:

Republic of Ireland

HSE guidance is that individuals showing symptoms of the coronavirus virus must only stop self-isolating when both of these apply:

• the individual has had no fever for 5 days
• it has been 14 days since the individual first developed symptoms

HSE guidance on self-isolation can be found here.

Northern Ireland

Public Health guidance is that individuals who live alone can end their self-isolation after 7 days.   If living with others, then all household members who remain well may end household-isolation after 14 days.

Public Health guidance on self-isolation can be found here. 

No. If the employee has followed medical and government advice and self-isolated, they can return to work as they will be deemed no longer contagious.  The cough might seem unsettling for their colleagues, but you can reassure them that the cough might persist for a few weeks afterwards and they are not contagious.

Follow your normal sickness absence procedures, which may require the employee to contact their GP over the phone if they still are showing symptoms of the COVID-19 or by visiting their GP if they have symptoms unrelated to COVID-19.

Republic of Ireland

If an employee is absent on sick leave and has symptoms of COVID-19 whether they are entitled to pay from their employer will depend on the employer's sick pay policy. There is no legal obligation for an employer to pay an employee while on sick leave, unless the employer has agreed to do so in an employment contract or policy.

Where an employee is medically required to self-isolate or has been diagnosed with Covid-19, they can apply for the special, enhanced Illness Benefit payment. To be eligible for this payment a person must be confined to their home or a medical facility. 

Further information is available from the Department of Social Welfare available here.

Northern Ireland

If an employee is absent on sick leave with symptoms of COVID-19, this should be treated in the same way as any other sickness absence in terms of payment. If the employer normally only pays statutory sick pay (SSP) during sickness absence, then this is what the employee should receive subject to meeting the qualifying criteria. Employees who are self-isolating on medical advice are also eligible for SSP.

Statutory Sick Pay information is available from the UK Government website available here.

While employers have a legal obligation to protect the health of their employees, employees also have a duty to take reasonable care to protect their health and the health of any other person in the workplace.  In this regard, employers would be justified in requiring employees to inform them if they have a medical diagnosis of COVID-19 in order to allow necessary steps to be taken.

However, it is important to keep in mind that the recording of any health information must be justified and factual, and must be limited to what is necessary in order to allow an employer to implement health and safety measures.

Employers should follow the advice and directions of the public health authorities, which may require the disclosure of personal data in the public interest to protect against serious threats to public health.

Employees should follow the advice of their healthcare practitioners and the public health authorities in these circumstances, who will instruct them as to what they need to do if they present symptoms of COVID-19

Further information on Data Protection is available from the Data Protection Commissioner available here.

This should be avoided, in the interests of maintaining the confidentiality of the employee’s personal data. For example, an employer would be justified in informing staff that there has been a case, or suspected case, of COVID 19 in the organisation and requesting them to work from home.  This communication should not name the affected individual.

Disclosure of this information may be required by the public health authorities in order to carry out their functions. 

Further information on Data Protection is available from the Data Protection Commissioner available here.

Lay-off occurs when normal working is interrupted and the employer is unable to retain employees in their normal capacity.  The situation is of a temporary nature and advance notice has been given to all concerned.  Employees are laid off for a specified period of time, until trading conditions improve, or until the reasons behind the lay-off no longer exist.

Short-time working is where an employee’s working week decreases to less than half of his or her normal weekly hours, or his or her pay is less than half of his or her normal take home pay; and the situation is not considered to be permanent and advance notice is given.

Republic of Ireland

The general pattern of short-time working is the ‘3 day week’ where employees work 3 days and claim social welfare for the remaining working week.  The employer is required to pay the employee for the days worked as normal.  Employees who are put onto short-time working by their employer due to a reduction in business activity related to Covid-19 may qualify for Short Time Work Support, further details found on the Irish Government website found here.

Northern Ireland

A statutory 'guarantee payment' is payable to employees, subject to certain requirements. The maximum payment is £29 per day for up to five 'workless' days in any three-month period, so a total maximum of £145. Part-time payments are calculated pro rata.

An employer could choose to pay more.

The National Standards agency’s guidance document states:

The following should be implemented where it is practicable to do so:

• cross-train, and identify alternative sources of labour to facilitate a full complement of the required skills needed on each team/shift;
• Avoid switching of employees from one shift to another;
• implement an ‘air gap’ or delayed shift changeover to accommodate a full cleaning/disinfection of all shared equipment, and reduce unnecessary interactions between different shift personnel;
• minimise the sharing of equipment and/or tools; and
• identify and suspend all non-essential operations which do not directly impact business functionality

NSAI COVID-19 Workplace Protection and Improvement Guide is available here.

Republic of Ireland

Section 29 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 has temporarily suspended the provisions of Section 12 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 from 13 March 2020 until 31 May 2020. This means that the right to seek a redundancy payment by reason of lay-off or short-time does not apply to any Covid-19 related lay-offs which occur between 13 March and 31 May 2020.  

Northern Ireland

If an employee is earning less than half their normal pay due to being laid off or put on short-time working for either: 

• 4 or more weeks in a row
• a total of 6 weeks in any 13-week period 

they are eligible to claim for a redundancy payment if they meet the eligibility criteria for statutory redundancy pay.