Fórsa has issued new advice for health workers, based on guidelines issued by the HSE’s occupational health team.

The advice sets out management and staff responsibilities in containing the coronavirus, and covers the provision and use of personal protective equipment and the position of pregnant staff and those with a high medical risk. Read it HERE.

Fórsa has told the HSE that its staff should not be required to use personal protective equipment (PPE) in ways that compromise their safety or the effectiveness of the equipment itself.

Official advice from the HSE’s occupational health team says staff should not be rostered to work with coronavirus patients if they don’t have appropriately-fitting PPE.

And it says they should be trained in the proper use and disposal of PPE.

The HSE admitted to shortages of some items of personal protective equipment yesterday, but said there was enough to get through to Sunday when new stocks are due to arrive.

Meanwhile, new occupational health guidelines for healthcare workers are expected to update coronavirus-related advice for pregnant staff and those who are medically vulnerable.

And a new occupational health helpline has been established for healthcare workers. It’s available from 8.00am to 8.00pm Mondays to Fridays, and from 9.00am to 5,00pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Tusla chief executive Bernard Gloster has appealed for volunteers among his staff to be temporarily reassigned to frontline child protection, children in care, and domestic and gender-based violence services.

In a video message to staff, he says colleagues in these critical care areas are struggling with coronavirus-related absences.

The child and family agency is asking social care workers and social workers to volunteer to move into the critical areas during the crisis – and its chief executive promises that everything will be done to support staff who do. You can apply via a link on the Tusla hub.

In his message to staff, Mr Gloster recognises the importance of all Tusla services. But he says he’s directing the “entire focus of the agency” to the three critical areas – including out-of-hours child protection services – at this time.

“These are the ones who need the greatest level of contact and support,” he says.

There are about 6,000 children in care in Ireland, with about 900 social care staff minding them in normal times.

But many staff working in the children’s residential services (CRS) have become unavailable due to Covid-related pressures involving their own health, or that of a family member.  Over 100 staff are absent because of Covid-19, which has led to an overall absence rate of 19% when non-coronavirus-related illnesses are factored in.

Some social care workers from outside the three critical service areas have already put their names forward to help cover the 24-hour shift patterns.

Fórsa official Chris Cully said the union was supporting the call for volunteers. “All social care staff do important work, and they are motivated by a desire to help others. I’m sure many will want to step in to help their colleagues – and the vital services they provide – at this exceptional time,” she said.

Chris is in daily contact Tusla’s human resources department, where she has raised staff issues related to the crisis.

She said Bernard Gloster had given absolute and personal assurances that any staff who are redeployed to critical areas will return to their normal post as soon as the crisis has passed. “Daytime staff who are placed on 24-hour rosters will be paid the standard premia and allowances applicable to that 24-hour rosters,” she said.

Fórsa is also discussing a new scheme where Tusla will offer three-month contracts to third-year social care students currently on Tusla placements.  “These students will work under strict supervision and will be paid at the first point of the unqualified social care worker scale,” said Chris. 

See Bernard Gloster’s video appeal HERE. 

Read Fórsa’s Covid-19 guidance to members HERE.

Read Tusla’s covid-19 guidance to staff (including on temporary reassignments) HERE.

Fórsa has sought official guidance to ensure maximum consistency on decisions about what public services are deemed essential during the current crisis.

In new guidance issued today (27th March), the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) says senior management in individual public service organisations should define what services are essential to continue, and what staff are needed to deliver them.

As well as impacting on service provision, these decisions could have implications for staff attendance at work, and for temporary reassignments of staff.

Fórsa first raised the issue after the Government announced that people should not to go to work if they could work from home or if their attendance at the workplace was not essential.

The union has also sought clarification on the position of staff who depend on public transport after An Taoiseach advised against any “unnecessary” travel.

In the meantime, the union continues to advise members to report for work as normal unless:

• You have been told not to attend work by your manager or HR department
• Remote working arrangements have been put in place, and you have been told to work at home by your manager or HR department
• You have a medical reason for not attending work
• You are self-isolating on medical or HSE advice.

Fórsa is advising its members to await guidance from their employers. Otherwise they may lose pay if they fail to report for work.

The union has also updated its advice to members as it applies to staff who are pregnant or who have a medical vulnerability.

Read more HERE. 

Fórsa members who work as civilian staff in An Gárda Síochana have been asked to volunteer, alongside their Garda colleagues, to perform Covid-19 testing in two drive-through locations. The measures are part of the national effort to increase the level of testing for the novel coronavirus.

Fórsa official Thomas Cowman said the union has sought assurances on all health and safety issues, consistent with the approach taken by the union with management in the health sector. The initiative is being led by the Chief Medical Officer of An Gárda Síochana, in conjunction with the HSE.

Thomas explained: “Garda management has requested volunteers from staff in the two drive-through areas. One located in the Garda training college in Templemore, Co. Tipperary and another in the Civilian Directorate in Navan, Co. Meath.

“The intention of An Gárda Síochana is to develop its own testing capacity to ensure priority test for all Garda staff both sworn members and civilian staff. This is purely on a voluntary basis, volunteers would be trained by National Ambulance Service and full PPE (personal protection) equipment will be provided to testers,” he said.

Thomas added that, consistent with HSE and DPER guidelines, nobody in ‘at risk’ categories would be asked to volunteer for the Garda C-19 testing initiative.

Fórsa clerical and executive grade members in An Gárda Síochana work in various roles in Garda stations, Garda headquarters and the training college in Templemore. As part of the Covid-19 response by An Gárda Síochana, management are consulting with Forsa to identified areas in order to temporarily reassign staff to support front line policing.

As part of this process Garda management has sought volunteers to perform front desk duties in order to facilitate the release of Gardaí to other duties. Volunteers will receive full training for this work but are not required to wear a uniform or undertake shift duties.

The Government has introduced new measures financial supports for Irish workers affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

The Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme, which will take affect from today (26^th March), will help maintain jobs and support workers’ incomes during this unprecedented crisis.

It will do this by ensuring that workers receive enhanced supports directly from their employer – underwritten by the public purse – in organisations that temporarily close or lose business because of the pandemic.

The new arrangement replaces the Employer Refund Scheme, which was originally introduced on 15^th March. It will be available to all employers who are adversely affected by the emergency, and who continue to keep staff on the payroll. 

Eligible employers will be supported by up to 70% of a worker’s take-home income, up to a maximum weekly tax-free payment of €410.

The scheme, which is due to run for a 12-week-period, will provide subsidies on incomes up to €76,000 and will be capped at net €350 for incomes between €38,000 and €76,000.

The Government has urged employers to operate the scheme and keep staff on their books. It’s also asked them to top-up the payment – to 100% of if possible – to help maintain incomes and economic activity.

Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) General Secretary Patricia King welcomed the Government move and acknowledged its swift response. She said the measures were “essential to protect the productive capacity of the economy and prevent a depression.” 

King also stressed the importance of the scheme to workers. "These wage subsidies will help put workers’ minds at ease and enable them and their families to meet the immediate challenge at hand – beating Covid-19," she said.

Last week, ICTU demanded ambitious Government measures to preserve workers’ jobs and incomes. It called for a temporary wage subsidiary scheme similar to the one unveiled yesterday. 

ICTU says it will work with Government and employers, at national and firm level, to support the jobs and incomes of all affected workers – and top ensure that employers who can pay the remaining 30% of workers’ pay.

The emergency measures were also welcomed by the business group IBEC, who have labelled the move as crucial in enabling the economy to bounce back from the Covid-19 emergency. 

For more information on the Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme click HERE.

The Government has put revised social welfare payments in place for 12 weeks because of the coronavirus crisis.

These payments are only available to people who’ve lost their jobs as a result of Covid-19. They can’t be claimed by people working from home or by those whose employer is availing of the temporary wage subsidy announced yesterday.

Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment

The Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment has been increased from €203 to €350. It’s available to employees and self-employed who are out of work due to the coronavirus crisis.

Those who had already been receiving the payment don’t need to reapply. The increased amount will be automatically allocated.

Eligible people who have at least one adult and one child dependant, or those who have four or more child dependants, may be entitled to a higher rate of payment. They should apply for a jobseeker’s payment instead of the Covid-19 payment.

While current pressures mean it may take some time to process applications, those eligible will receive a minimum of €350 per week with any additional payments being backdated.

Covid-19 illness benefit 

The enhanced illness benefit has also been increased to €350 per week to encourage self-isolation and remove any discrepancy between those affected by the medical and economic impacts of the pandemic.

Fórsa is strongly urging people to apply online in order to reduce the chance of spreading the virus – and to speed up payments.

Existing social welfare payments

For those receiving social welfare assistence in the form of carers, working family, or one-parent family payments can also claim the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment while retaining their existing benefits, provided they lost their job as a result of the coronavirus.

The personal amounts for all core weekly social welfare payments remain unchanged. The only increased payments are the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment and the enhanced illness benefit. Both are temporary measures.

Fórsa’s regional offices closed yesterday evening (Wednesday 25th March 2020), and there’s only a minimal presence in the union’s Dublin office.

But all staff have been equipped to work remotely and the union remains fully available to members who need assistance – especially on coronavirus-related issues and queries.

The best way to contact the union at this time is by clicking HERE.

The union also continues to post up-to-date advice and information on the Fórsa website, and is issuing ebulletins direct to members every day or two. Our basic coronavirus advice is regularly updated.

The move to shut down offices follows the Government’s announcement on Tuesday (24th March), and the union’s successful push over the last week to equip all its staff to work productively from home.

Our officials and staff will continue to deal with your queries as quickly as possible. The union will prioritise cases where members’ jobs and incomes are at immediate risk – as well as any serious health and safety issues that may arise.

Members should not attend Fórsa offices at this time. If you have a query or concern, the best way to raise it is to contact the union HERE.

Fórsa is keen to ensure that all our members contact details are up to date.

By maintaining your current contact details we can ensure that up-to-the-minute, important information can be delivered directly to each and every member of the union.

This is especially important during the current national Covid-19 crisis. In the past few days we’ve been able to issue a series of special bulletins to members, keeping them in touch with the latest advice and guidelines from the HSE and employers.

However, if any member isn’t receiving this information, it means we don’t have a current email address for them on our system. This could be because they’ve moved departments or changed grades or employment etc.

If this sounds like the experience of one of your colleagues, please share this information with them and let them know we’re encouraging members to update their contact details with us in order to improve our communications service to members.

The union is also experiencing a high volume of members getting in touch with the communications unit directly to change their contact details as a result of new eircom policy taking effect later this month. Those members wishing to change the email address Fórsa contacts them on should also follow the directions outlined below.

It's also worth noting your home email address helps to ensure direct, safe and more effective communications with you than a workplace email address.

To update contact details, visit our website HERE and follow the directions to quickly update them.

Fórsa is here to protect you if you have problems arising from the coronavirus or other workplace issues. The best way to contact the union at this time is HERE.

We will deal with queries as quickly as we can but, needless to say, the union will prioritise cases where members’ jobs and incomes are at immediate risk – as well as any serious health and safety issues that may arise.

Fórsa has cancelled all face-to-face meetings for the time being. The union is redeploying its staff to prioritise engagement with management on proposals arising from the Covid-19 public health crisis, and to provide rapid and efficient responses to members’ queries and concerns.

Fórsa's main phone line (01 817 1500) is now open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively members can use the Contact Us page on the Fórsa website to submit queries directly to the relevant division within Fórsa and this remains the most efficient way to access advice directly.

Wherever possible, Fórsa staff have been equipped to work remotely. Therefore, members should not attend Fórsa offices at this time. If you have a query or concern, the best way to raise it is to contact the union HERE.

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has issued comprehensive guidance on protecting personal data while working remotely.

The guidance covers devices, emails, cloud and network access, and paper records. In summary, the DPC says:

• Take care that devices, including USBs, aren’t lost and report any loses to your data protection officer
• Ensure devices have the necessary updates, particularly software and antivirus
• Keep all devices and paper records secure in a safe location
• Lock your device and tidy away paper records if you leave it unattended
• Log out of devices, email accounts, etc and turn devices off when they’re not in use.
• Use strong passwords and encryption where necessary
• Take immediate steps to ensure a remote memory wipe if you lose a device
• Follow your employer’s policies
• Send emails to the correct person and protect attachments that contain sensitive personal data
• Use work email accounts
• Watch out for phishing emails or WhatsApp messages
• Stick with your organisation’s networks and cloud services, and comply with your employer’s rules and procedures on cloud or network access, login and, data sharing
• Ensure any locally-stored data is adequately backed up securely
• Keep a written record of what records and files you’ve taken home.

Any data processing done in the context of preventing the spread of Covid-19 should be carried out in a manner that ensures data security, particularly where health data is concerned. The identity of affected individuals should not be disclosed to any third parties, including their colleagues, without a clear justification.

Contact your employer’s date protection officer if you have questions or concerns.

Two students at Carnegie Mellon university in the USA have developed an interactive tool that shows the impact of Covid-19 around the world.

Using Worldometers real-time data, it provides the most up-to-date information on number of cases, deaths and recoveries in each country – as well as the global sum. Just click on the map to get updates. 

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has published advice about working remotely for both workers and employers.

And the Health and Safety Authority has reminded employers of their legal duty to ensure the safety, health and welfare of their employees when they are working remotely.

The CIPD advice for employees includes tips for setting up designated workspaces, managing technology, and maintaining effective communication and relationships with colleagues through digital platforms.

It also has information on conducting effective online meetings and tips for those managing remote teams.

The Health and Safety Authority has published this FAQ resource.