QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS SECTION:

• An employee has disclosed they are a close contact of a suspected Covid – 19 case who is awaiting a test. What should I do?
• An employee has symptoms of Covid-19. What should I do?
• An employee is isolating due to suspected Covid-19. Do I need to inform other employees of this?
• An employee has tested positive for Covid-19. Do I need to inform other employees of this?
• An employee has a child who has been sent home due to a positive Covid-19 test in their classroom. Do they need to self-isolate or restrict movements and do I need to inform other employees?
• Can I introduce a mandatory vaccination policy in the workplace?

An employee has disclosed they are a close contact of a suspected Covid – 19 case who is awaiting a test. What should I do?

Employers in this situation need to fall back on medical advice, as this situation falls outside the scope of the employer’s remit. The employee should be asked to remain out of the workplace and contact their GP or primary healthcare provider immediately. The medical professional will then determine if the employee needs to isolate or restrict movement, or if they can return to the workplace. Employers should ask for a fit to return to work certificate if the employee is returning.

An employee has symptoms of Covid-19. What should I do?

Employers have a duty of care to protect their employees. In order to comply with this if an employee is displaying symptoms the employee should be asked to leave the workplace and contact their GP or primary healthcare provider immediately. The medical professional will then determine if the employee needs to isolate or restrict movement, or if they can return to the workplace. Employers should ask for a fit to return to work certificate if the employee is returning.

An employee is isolating due to suspected Covid-19. Do I need to inform other employees of this?

Medical data is a special category of data, and is protected under GDPR. No names should be mentioned in connection with any confirmed or suspected case of Covid – 19. If an employee is isolating, an employer should assess their policies and procedures, and their contact log, to ascertain the level of risk to other employees. Any employee with suspected Covid-19 should be asked to provide a fit to return to work cert prior to returning from any confirmed or suspected Covid-19 related absence.

Further guidance on the treatment of Covid – 19 related data is available here.

An employee has tested positive for Covid-19. Do I need to inform other employees of this?

If an employee tests positive for Covid-19 the HSE contact tracing system will apply. The employer will be one of the first ports of call for the HSE in this instance if the employee has been in the workplace in the 14 days prior to their positive test. The HSE will look at the workplace, the policies and procedures in place and the contact log to decide if any workplace contacts need to restrict movement or be referred for a test. Any employee who tests positive for Covid-19 should be asked to provide a fit to work cert prior to returning to work.

An employee has a child who has been sent home due to a positive Covid-19 test in their classroom. Do they need to self-isolate or restrict movements and do I need to inform other employees?

The HSE will asses any contacts of confirmed cases and advise those who should be referred for a test or those required to isolate or restrict movements. If any parent of a child who may be a contact reports feeling unwell, they should be advised to contact a GP immediately. Current HSE guidance outlines the instances where someone should restrict their movements. If the employee does not fall into any of these categories, it becomes an issue as to whether leave can be granted for childcare purposes.

Force Majeure leave is only applicable for emergency situations where the immediate presence of the employee is required where the injured/ill family member is, and would not be applicable on an ongoing basis in this situation.

Can I introduce a mandatory vaccination policy in the workplace?

While Employers do have obligations to prevent the spread of infectious disease in the workplace under the Safety Health and Welfare at work act, prevention of the spread of COVID19 to other employees in the workplace will not necessarily amount to a legitimate justification for mandatory vaccination in the workplace.

Employers must be mindful that the Irish Constitution protects certain personal rights of Irish citizens, including rights to bodily integrity, privacy and autonomy. These have been held to mean that a competent adult patient must consent to medical treatment and can refuse it.

If legislation is introduced to implement mandatory COVID-19 vaccination the risk to public health could potentially override this provision.

There is, however, no evidence to suggest that the government will introduce a mandatory vaccination programme and no indication as to whether the HSE (the largest employer of healthcare workers) will require staff to have the COVID-19 vaccine when available. Employers in sectors other than health and care will therefore find it more difficult to introduce a mandatory vaccination policy.

Employers will need to consider vaccination as part of their risk assessment. If an employer intends to mandate the vaccine as part of its approach to reducing risks, it will need to have extremely strong justification for the policy and consider whether there are reasonable alternatives. Legal advice should be sought as a mandatory vaccination policy may also give rise to discrimination claims.