What you should be thinking about - COVID-19
We were hoping last year was the end of our COVID-19 comms, but here we go again…
Overnight it was announced that there were two new Covid-19 community cases (in addition to the earlier case), who had visited various North Auckland locations since completing quarantine. For many of our clients, especially those based on the North Shore they have been sent into a tail spin, our advice is to stay calm, and start considering the following:
Have any of your team members visited the locations of the community cases, at around the same time. Check out the complete locations visited here.
o If the answer is yes – they will need to complete a COVID-19 test for precaution and isolate until the test results are known. We understand test results are being processed quickly overnight or at least within 24 hours.
o You will need to consult with those team members around how they will be paid whilst isolating and awaiting their test results – you could agree to any of the following:
Agree that they work from home, and continue to be paid as usual whilst they await their results;
Apply for the COVID-19 Leave Support scheme for those workers who cannot come into work as they are required to isolate and can’t work from home due to their type of work. You can apply here.
From mid-February 2021 you can apply for the Short-Term Absence Payment, to cover eligible workers who need to stay at home for 1 to 3 days whilst awaiting test results. You can find out more here.
Alternatively, you and the team member may agree on leave being used, whether that be sick, annual leave or special leave. If the team member has no available leave entitlements, then you may wish to consider advancing this in the circumstances.
If you have concerns about the genuineness of the need to isolate, you may ask for proof of this, however we urge you to do so in good faith, and act fairly and reasonably. Proof may include a bank statement that they were shopping there at the same time, but remember their wife may have purchased the groceries, or they were simply with a friend, and didn’t purchase anything – seeking proof isn’t fool proof.
What else should you start thinking about, and doing to protect you, your team, and visitors to your workplace?
COVID-19 is still out there, play it safe
Talk with your workers to identify risks and ways to manage them
Ask everyone, workers, contractors and customers with cold or flu-like symptoms to stay away from your premises
Undertake physical distancing where possible
Keep contact-tracing records of anyone who will have close interaction (workers, contractors or customers)
Reduce the number of shared surfaces and regularly disinfect them
Wash your hands and have sanitizer available throughout the workplace
There are plenty of free resources out there to support you with your planning. Check out our free resources here.
The Government also has various free resources, including the contact tracing app available on their website here.
Your team (especially if based in North Auckland) will be anxious, keep communication up and continue to seek their input into any concerns they may have. You have done this before, and you can do it again – we are only a quick call away on 0800 HR FOR U, if you have any people related questions.