The largest public service union Fórsa has advised its members to report for work pending government clarification on what constitutes "essential" work, as opposed to work that can be done from home.
Fórsa recommends members should await guidance from their employers as otherwise, they may lose pay if they fail to report for work.
In a bulletin to its 80,000 members, Fórsa notes today's Government's announcement warning against "unnecessary travel", and says the union is now seeking guidance on the position of staff depending on public transport to get to work.
The union says it has received an assurance from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform - which oversees public service staffing issues - that new guidance for staff and managers will be issued in the next couple of days.
Similar guidance has been sought from the HSE, the Local Government Management Agency and other state departments.
The bulletin notes that today, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar "...urged people not to go to work if they could work from home, or if their attendance at the workplace was not essential. And he said there should be no unnecessary travel.
But official bodies have yet to say what this means in specific cases.
Fórsa advises members to attend for work unless they have been told not to do by their manager or HR department, remote working arrangements have been put in place, they have a medical reason for not attending, or are self-isolating on medical advice.
The union has also advised pregnant women or others who are medically vulnerable to the virus to get a doctor's advice before reporting for work.
Fórsa has again urged the Government to put childcare arrangements in place for healthcare workers and other essential staff, and described the delay in doing as unacceptable.
