On 18 March 2020 the Government confirmed that from the end of the day on Friday 20 March all schools would close until further notice.

Advice was also given for nurseries and pre-schools to close in line with school closures. This decision took effect for all children apart from children of ‘key workers’ i.e. those individuals working in health care, food delivery, some production sites etc.  

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MY BUSINESS?

Unless your business provides essential services your employees with children will no longer have fixed childcare arrangements in place. This means that there are likely to be disruptions to your business by way of your employees being absent from work.

WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?

In the absence of updated guidance from the government we are left to apply the laws that we have in place. Presently if parent’s or carers experience childcare emergencies, they are entitled to take a reasonable amount of unpaid leave. The purpose of this leave is so that the parent or carer can make alternative arrangements for their children.  

The difference in terms of the current situation, is that there will be very few options available to parents – particularly given that the government have expressly set out that grandparents (who usually fall within the vulnerable group) must not look after their grandchildren.  

Arguably the reason for school closures is to isolate children from one another and from gathering in large groups. Therefore, any alternative arrangements will need to be bespoke and are, like toilet paper, going to be in low supply.  

It would be welcomed for the government to provide an updated indication of what should be considered ‘reasonable’ in these circumstances. It seems likely that the definition of what is reasonable will need to be stretched and employers need to be prepared to be flexible.

At present any leave taken to look after family and dependents is usually unpaid leave – although some employers may offer enhanced terms, which will need to be considered on a case by case basis.

WHAT CAN I DO?

The best things that an employer can do are 1) prepare to be flexible where possible, and 2) keep lines of communication open with employees.

If employees are able to work from home and can do so effectively whilst caring for their children, then this may be a workable solution. If the children are quite young or need a lot of care then perhaps the employee’s working hours can be shortened and shifted around to accommodate this, for example once the children are in bed.

As always, it will be important to keep in contact with your employees and make sure they understand your expectations and business requirements

WHAT ABOUT PAY?

At present, time taken off to support family and dependents is unpaid, unless as an employer you have enhanced contractual terms.

If an employee is at home caring for children but is able to work and you agree to them working, you would need to pay them in the usual way or in line with any agreement made between you i.e. if caring for children will only allow part-time work, then you could agree that the employee is paid part time hours.

As an alternative, you can seek to agree that an employee take paid holiday instead of time off for family and dependents.  

Remember, if you have an employee who is at home caring for children but they become sick or need to self-isolate, they will be entitled to statutory sick pay (or company sick pay if you have enhanced terms) and new rules mean that statutory sick pay will start from day one of either isolation of sickness.

If you have any questions on the impact of COVID-19 on your business or any other employment related questions, then please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to help you.