Following last night’s (4 January) announcement from the Prime Minister that the country will go back into lockdown and the closure of all schools, many business owners are concerned about how they can continue to operate and what to do about staff who now have to look after their children and supervise home learning.
It is important to note that all parents have the automatic right to take time off for unexpected childcare emergencies. They are protected from being dismissed or disciplined for taking this time off.
This right has existed in the UK for many years and entitles the employee to unpaid time off to deal with the immediate emergency. This is most typically used for things like unexpected school closures, snow days, trips to A&E etc. and would normally last a day or two whilst the parent puts in place alternative arrangements such as calling in childminders, or more typically, grandparents to take care of the child.
Unfortunately, with the current restrictions on social interaction those main options are unlikely to be available for many. Although not what the legislation was designed for, it is quite possible that parents can and will use this right for the entire period of lockdown and the school closures, tying many employers’ hands.
What then are your options? There would appear to be three key possibilities:
- Where possible, allow the employee to work from home and accept that there may be some interruptions in their day. This would undoubtedly be the best option if it can be facilitated without impacting on productivity too severely.
- If that would not work for them or for the business, the furlough scheme remains in place and can be used on a flexible furlough basis if needed for those employees who qualify. The scheme is currently planned to continue until April 2021 and although it is not as generous as during the first lockdown (you will have to pay NI and pension contributions) it remains a good option for many. It is worth noting that HMRC is publishing a list of all businesses using the furlough scheme which has put many employers off using it (no doubt the purpose behind it). Now that schools are closed though this ‘stigma’ issue will fall away as the lockdown changes the calculations for everyone.
- Allow the employees to exercise their right to emergency unpaid leave. This will be the default option for those who cannot work from home where the employer cannot or will not use the furlough scheme and the employee needs to take time off work to care for their children.
If employees need to care for children and cannot work from home productively, it is likely that the furlough scheme will be the preferred option for most businesses where their employees qualify for payment under the scheme.
For more information and advice relating to the latest lockdown and how it might affect your employees’ rights, please contact us on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our Team will be in touch.