Government's "Do Not Travel Abroad" advice and employer's reaction.

joujoujou

Sorry if that one's already answered (if so, would be more than happy for a link).

Department of Foreign Affairs some time ago published advice not to travel abroad and anyone returning from abroad (Northern Ireland excluded) must self-isolate for 2 weeks.

In response to that employer (won't name them here for obvious reasons) issued a notice to all employees they have to inform Management before they go abroad and after returning home employees have to take additional 2 weeks off (deducted from their annual leave) for self isolation period. If there's not enough annual leave left, unpaid leave can be given.

The question is - do employer have a legal right to enforce employees to take 2 more weeks off and have it deducted from their annual leave entitlement? I guess they do, but looking for clarification. Any referral to relevant legislation would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Fr_Dougal

They do not.

sideline warrior

joujoujou wrote: »

Sorry if that one's already answered (if so, would be more than happy for a link).

Department of Foreign Affairs some time ago published advice not to travel abroad and anyone returning from abroad (Northern Ireland excluded) must self-isolate for 2 weeks.

In response to that employer (won't name them here for obvious reasons) issued a notice to all employees they have to inform Management before they go abroad and after returning home employees have to take additional 2 weeks off (deducted from their annual leave) for self isolation period. If there's not enough annual leave left, unpaid leave can be given.

The question is - do employer have a legal right to enforce employees to take 2 more weeks off and have it deducted from their annual leave entitlement? I guess they do, but looking for clarification. Any referral to relevant legislation would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Just to add to the question. What happens if you travel back from a country that might be on the Green List (if & when published)? Surely if Govt aren't enforcing quarantine, on what legal grounds could an employer? Lots of ifs, buts & maybes.

jam_mac_jam

I presume that they are trying to protect the other employees.

Why should they be put at risk for your holiday?

Benimar

sideline warrior wrote: »

Just to add to the question. What happens if you travel back from a country that might be on the Green List (if & when published)? Surely if Govt aren't enforcing quarantine, on what legal grounds could an employer? Lots of ifs, buts & maybes.

My understanding is there is no Quarantine from countries on the Green List.

However, its unclear if a country is removed from the Green List while you are there if you must quarantine then..I'd assume yes but who knows?

I'd be fairly certain employers are at least looking at the possibility of enforcing quarantine. They don't want to have to shut for 2 weeks because someone wasnt careful on their holidays.

deckie66

Employer has no right to know where you go and what you do during your holidays.

Totally different if travel was work related

My employer is piloting PCR testing of employees from next week. Using a German Lab. American company who have a worldwide quarantine from being allowed on site of 10 days on return from International travel. The testing is to enable employees to travel without the 10 day requirement, contingent on local restrictions also.

joujoujou

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

I presume that they are trying to protect the other employees.

Why should they be put at risk for your holiday?

I fully understand their concern, but as others mentioned, I too think employer has no right to stick their nose into employee's holiday plans.

And my assumption is - if they fear of the whole company may be put at risk, they should put returning employee to 2 weeks self isolation and pay for it without additional holiday taken by employee.

ZX7R

Where I work, management tried to implement.
Union said no.
Personal data ECT.
They put forward that the employer pay for the two weeks as they are requesting it.
HR are dealing with it

ZX7R

ZX7R wrote: »

Where I work, management tried to implement.
Union said no.
Personal data ECT.
They put forward that the employer pay for the two weeks as they are requesting it.
HR are dealing with it

Where I work management said by travelling while quarantines requirements are in place you are defacto making yourself unavailable for those 14 days and will not be paid except in exceptional circumstances on approval from a Director. As I mentioned earlier, they are now looking to implement testing for such employees

jam_mac_jam

joujoujou wrote: »

I fully understand their concern, but as others mentioned, I too think employer has no right to stick their nose into employee's holiday plans.

And my assumption is - if they fear of the whole company may be put at risk, they should put returning employee to 2 weeks self isolation and pay for it without additional holiday taken by employee.

Well they do have a right because they have to protect the other employees. If there is a government mandated quarantine and you don't do it then it's putting the other employees at risk.

They have a duty of care to other employees as well. Why should they have to cover two weeks of extra annual leave because you go away? Essentially two weeks of free pay because the employee want to go away?

No i don't think that's fair to the employer or other employees who are staying in Ireland. You need extra leave to protect your colleagues I think it's fair enough that you pay for it.

The best solution would be a test as another poster has said their employer is doing.

Assetbacked

I think the key is in the name; government non-essential travel "advice". It is illegal for the employer in any event to deduct annual leave as a punishment for a breach of their rules. But there will be travel bridges announced next week which means there will be no obligation to quarantine when flying to and from these places so I think your employer's rules will be redundant in a matter of days.

joujoujou

Aye. What DFA exactly states they "advise against all non-essential travel overseas until further notice". So if you want to go, you can, they just recommend not to.

s1ippy

The employer has a responsibility to protect staff.

The staff have the right to a safe workplace.

Everybody knows that travelling is a high-risk activity.

The traveller must take responsibility for their actions and self-isolate upon return as is the recommendation.

https://www.siptu.ie/services/workersrightscentre/knowyourrights/annualleave/

"When can leave be taken?
The employer determines when leave has to be taken but he/she must bear in mind a number of listed concerns i.e. the need for the employees to reconcile work and any family responsibilities and the opportunities for rest and recreation available to the employee. The employer is also obliged to consult with the trade union, or the employee, at least four weeks before the leave is due to be taken."

No specific legislation to quote, but usually (unless outlined in the original contract) an employer makes the call about these things.

cdeb

joujoujou wrote: »

The question is - do employer have a legal right to enforce employees to take 2 more weeks off and have it deducted from their annual leave entitlement? I guess they do, but looking for clarification. Any referral to relevant legislation would be greatly appreciated.

You would imagine that, where an employee can work remotely for the entire of those two weeks, that would be a suitable solution.

But if they can't - then yeah, what can the employer do? They're not the ones enforcing the quarantine period; it's the State. It's the employee who has put themselves at risk by travelling to an area which requires a quarantine period on return. If they can't work because of their own actions, then is the employer supposed to let them sit at home on full pay for two weeks? That hardly seems reasonable.

I would be surprised if the employer could impose a quarantine if the travel was to a place where the State doesn't recommend a quarantine period. The most sensible thing for any employer to do at the moment is to obey State guidelines from experts.

Comments about the employer having a duty to maintain, and the staff a right to expect, a safe workplace are very relevant too, especially in light of the current pandemic. And also correct to note that annual leave is something agreed between employer and employee (with employer getting a veto if required), not something the employee can just take and ignore any consequences to the employer.