HEALTH AND SAFETY

Below is the process that Anglicare will follow if a person who has tested positive to COVID-19 has visited any Anglicare or St Saviours locations will infectious. Please contact your Line Manager if you have any concerns or questions about this process.

Review the decision tree below to determine if you or your worker should attend an Anglicare worksite.

Where an employee cannot work because they are subject to an enforceable government order or direction requiring them to self-quarantine, employees are not ordinarily entitled to be paid (unless they use leave entitlements). In this case, their inability to work is because of a government order or direction, not because of their employer.

If you are required to self-isolate or quarantine due to a Government order and/or you have been in a high risk situation and

• have no symptoms and are able to work from home you will be paid as normal;
• have no symptoms and are unable to work from home you will need to apply for annual/long service leave/unpaid;
• have symptoms you should submit a personal leave request. If you have no available personal leave, you can utilise your annual or long service leave entitlements.  Alternatively, you are able to take unpaid personal leave. All Applications for leave must be entered into EmployeeConnect.

Our organisation has made special provisions for people who need to take leave as a result of COVID-19 illness and it can be discussed with your manager and HR.

Employees may be able to access enhanced government payments – see information here.

The Australian Government could direct employers to close workplaces or make decisions that restrict movement of people more generally, which may result in the closure of workplaces.  Anglicare services may close due to an inability to continue operating resulting from essential supplies or stock becoming unavailable.

Due to the complex and varied funding arrangements under which Anglicare services operate, service closures or reductions will be considered individually. Compliance with all Government directions in relation to the pandemic and our responsibility to ensuring the health and safety of staff and clients will be central to any decisions.

If the Australian Government issues a direction which results in Anglicare closing services and you are able to remain usefully employed and work from home you will continue to be paid as normal.  Alternately, you will be able to access your annual and long service leave entitlements.

If you are required to stay home to care for children, due to school/day-care closures and are able to work you must follow Anglicare’s Working from Home Policy and Process.

If you are required to stay home to care for children, due to school/day-care closures and are unable to work, you should submit a carers (personal) leave request.

Generally, in situations where employers are required to stand-down staff due to something out of their control, this is done so without pay.  Anglicare staff are able to utilise available annual or long service leave entitlements.

If you are able to work from home and remain ‘usefully employed’, please discuss this with your manager.

If you are unable to remain ‘usefully employed’, your manager will discuss leave arrangements with you.

In the situation where Anglicare closes a workplace, casuals will receive pay for the hours rostered for the current pay fortnight and the subsequent pay fortnight.

NOTE: There may also be opportunities for staff to avoid lengthy unpaid periods by helping backfill staff shortages in essential roles across service areas that continue to operate. Suitability will be depend on the requirements of the role in relation to qualifications, employment checks currency, availability and experience. A list of available roles will be communicated through email as they come available and can be discussed with your Executive Manager in the first instance.

Our organisation has also made special provisions for people who need to take leave as a result of COVID-19 illness and have no paid leave available. This can be discussed with your manager and HR.

Managers will be responsible for working with individual employees during this uncertain period and navigate together through some potentially difficult conversations.  There is no single right response for all employees.  Each situation must be managed on a case-by-case basis.  In concert with the above information please consider the following:

Timing

Managers should commence conversations about working from home (WFH) with each employee as soon as practicable.  Follow the organisations policy and work with each individual to complete the WFH agreement and risk assessment.

Encourage staff to trial WFH sooner rather than later.  This way any unforeseen issues that arise for people when working from home for the first time can be addressed quickly.

Work Hours

When negotiating a WFH arrangement consider flexibility in hours, particularly when the employee has carer responsibilities.

You may allow work to be completed in small blocks of time over the course of the day, rather than as a standard work day, or composite part paid leave part work hours over the course of the week.  Alternately, the individual may prefer to work some longer days to make up their working hours.

The Work

It is important to ensure that each employee is “usefully employed”. This means that the employment will result in a net benefit to the employer’s business by reason of the performance of the particular work done by the employee.

The Tools

Having the things needed to complete the work from home is critical to ensure employees are as effective as they can be.  Simple items like staples, or a highlighter, as well as the more significant items, laptop, mouse/keyboard, an internet connection are all key to ensuring that the business continues to run as normal as possible.

Record Keeping

It is good practice for employees to record their hours of work when they work from home.  This provides clarity about the amount of hours worked in a week and ensures that the employee is not working too many hours. Employers and employees are encouraged to discuss how this should occur.

Records of discussions and agreements reached as part of managing arrangements with staff should also be maintained.

Build Community

Managers should ensure that there are opportunities to connect face to face to continue foster relationships between team members and create a connected environment by using email, phone, text and/or zoom to foster a connected environment.  Daily community meetings are a great way to achieve this.

Managers should consider individual employees personality traits – most of these teams, working from home for the first time, may not have had the chance to trial how they can best work together in these types of settings. Individual team members may enjoy the peace and quiet of home working, or miss the buzz of the workplace.

Individuals will experience the change in different ways – some may immediately feel anxious while others will relish the challenge and even the uncertainty that change can bring.

Trust

Trusting employees to continue to carry out their tasks as normal is key to a successful transition to remote working.

Leave Arrangements

Managers should remain flexible in relation to the taking of leave entitlements.  Employees may find it useful to take their paid annual and/or long service entitlements at half pay or a set number of hours per fortnight.  Please ensure that this is agreed in writing and the individual lodges an application accurately in Anglicare’s HRIS.

It is more important than ever that we maintain our Sanctuary commitments and focus on self-care.

To support our Sanctuary program and help facilitate strong employee self-care, we encourage staff to access support services provided by our EAP.