Coronavirus
is affecting all our daily lives including our workplaces. We recognise the
very challenging position that many employers and workers are now facing. We
need a partnership, working in the national interest, to get through the next
few months - a partnership that involves the public sector, unions, businesses,
3rd sector organisations, and all workers and managers. We are hugely
appreciative of the many cases where this is already in place.
Applying Fair Work Principles through the
crisis
Scotland is rightly proud of its reputation as a leader on Fair Work and
remains committed to becoming a Fair Work nation. The health and wellbeing of
individuals, communities and the economy is our priority and in these
exceptional times, adopting a Fair Work approach is more important than ever.
Scotland’s success as an economy is built on a shared endeavour between
workers, unions and employers and this approach will help us get through the
current health and economic crisis. Government, unions and business
organisations must work together to reach, collectively, the right decisions for
protecting workers and public safety, and to help businesses to stay open, where
permitted under latest guidance, and keep people in employment.
There has been an unprecedented package of
support announced from both the Scottish and UK Governments to support
businesses. This support should help many employers preserve their business,
maintain jobs and pay their workers throughout this crisis. Information on this
support is available through findbusinesssupport.gov.scot. We
urge all businesses to make use of this.
Employers
should consult the latest guidance on the operation of public services and
non-essential businesses. With the
closure of schools and other childcare centres now in place to help delay the
spread of the virus we need to make sure that key workers performing essential
tasks (and for whom no other safe and viable childcare including home working
is available) have childcare support to enable them to carry on working.
Guidance on
the definition of key workers and childcare provision is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus---school-and-elc-closures-guidance-on-critical-childcare-provision-for-key-workers/.
We have high expectations of how fair work
principles should be applied during the current crisis. This means an approach
where workers,
trade unions and employers work together constructively to reach the right decisions on all workplace issues that arise
throughout this crisis. The dimensions of fair work as defined by the Fair Work
Convention: effective voice; security; respect; opportunity and fulfilment,
applied to the current context, offer a framework for taking these decisions.
These are exceptional times and for this reason we are asking employers,
unions and workers to agree appropriate arrangements that ensure that workers
are treated fairly. This means:
·
Ensuring all
workers follow health protection advice to isolate either themselves or as part
of their households
Health protection advice is updated
regularly; it is there for a reason - to help save lives – and above all else
employers should be supporting workers to follow it. No one
should feel under pressure to breach that advice and workers should not be put
at unnecessary risk, nor should they put others at risk of infection.
· Paying workers while they are sick or self-isolating
No worker should be financially penalised by their employer for
following medical advice. Any absence
from work relating to COVID-19 should not affect future sick pay entitlement,
result in disciplinary action or count towards any future sickness absence
related action.
·
Supporting those
with caring responsibilities
Employers should consider temporary arrangements for paid leave for
caring responsibilities that are additional to current leave entitlements.
·
Facilitating home
working
During the crisis period it should always be the norm to be able to work
from home wherever possible. Employers
should be as supportive and flexible as they can, given the exceptional strains
that will be placed on some workers. Rules need to flex to allow those with
caring responsibilities to carry on working.
·
Protecting the
health and safety of all workers, but particularly frontline or key workers who
face particular risks
Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment should be provided, special
health and safety arrangements set up to ensure safe workplaces, and continuing
risk assessment of working practices undertaken in this fast-moving situation.
·
Ensuring all
workers are provided with clear and comprehensive information on work-related
risks on an ongoing basis
All workers should be aware of and have access to workplace guidance and
procedures relating to COVID-19, including on the management of self-isolation
and sickness absence. Workers need to know clearly and simply what their
responsibilities are and also their employer’s legitimate expectations of them.
·
Protecting the
position of contracted workers as well as core staff.
Temporary agency workers and self-employed
contractors should be treated as if they were employees during the current
health crisis.
Fundamentally, employers should look to maintain jobs and pay their
workers throughout this crisis and to make use of Government support to achieve
this. Employers should make use of the backdating of the HMRC grant to 1 March to
ensure furloughed workers are compensated for lost earnings with existing
contracts respected.
As
an employer, the Scottish Government is modelling this behaviour. An agreement between the Scottish Government and
the civil service unions has been concluded on how they will work together
during the coronavirus crisis. This sets
our expectations for the approach to be taken by public sector employers and
beyond across Scotland.
In addition to regular engagement with
businesses and public sector bodies, a structure to facilitate a strategic dialogue between the STUC and the
Scottish Government - across all relevant departments and public sector
employers and agencies - has been put in place to help management of the crisis; to share information and to ensure the co-ordinated, consistent and
effective response that is fully informed by the perspectives of unions and
workers. We are also identifying
areas where new or reinforced engagement is needed, including cross portfolio
areas such as social care.
The
national endeavour to get us through this health crisis will require an
unprecedented economic response shared collectively, deliberately and with
purpose - by unions, business, the public sector, workers and the public.
FIONA HYSLOP Grahame
Smith
Cabinet Secretary for Economy,
Fair Work & Culture
General Secretary
STUC
25 March 2020