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Workplace imposing own travel restrictions

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  • 25-09-2020 8:16pm
    #1
    LegacyUser
    Registered Users Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭


    I'm not planning to travel for the foreseeable, however I'd like to know if this is normal in the current circumstances


    Workplace has had us agree to follow all government restrictions inside and outside of work - no problem with this.

    With regards to green list travel, however, they've decided that we must still quarantine - unpaid - upon return from any green list country. Is this normal and how places are doing things now?

    One other thing is that they've decided that regardless of any green list or travel corridor or whatever the government decides in the coming months, all travel outside of Ireland during annual leave is not allowed unless for absolute emergency reasons. This policy is expected to be in place for 6 months minimum.


    Can they really let us go for traveling to a green list couñtry, or enforce unpaid quarantine? Seems completely unreasonable that they can tell us what to do during our time off?


    I'm most likely not going to travel regardless, but I do have family abroad that I'd want to see if and when their countries make the travel list.


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    #2
    Augme
    Registered Users Posts: 5,155 ✭✭✭Augme


    Basically no, they can't tell you not to travel and they can't tell you to take unpaid leave from travelling to a green list country either.


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    #3
    OMM 0000
    Registered Users Posts: 3,733 ✭✭✭OMM 0000


    The need to pay you for the quarantine. That solves the problem and is reasonable.


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    #4
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,692 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    Augme wrote: »
    Basically no, they can't tell you not to travel and they can't tell you to take unpaid leave from travelling to a green list country either.

    Have you got a link for that?


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    #5
    GarIT
    Registered Users Posts: 8,671 ✭✭✭GarIT


    The civil service is doing this. Requiring anyone who has left the country to take two weeks annual leave starting from the day they return to Ireland. Even green lost countries and even if you are working from home.

    Usually anything they do is above board.


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    #6
    Rob Thomas
    Registered Users Posts: 488 ✭✭Rob Thomas


    GarIT wrote: »
    The civil service is doing this. Requiring anyone who has left the country to take two weeks annual leave starting from the day they return to Ireland. Even green lost countries and even if you are working from home.

    Usually anything they do is above board.


    So if you work from home and travel to a green list country you have to take 2 weeks off when you come back - you cant continue to work from home during that period?



    thats real overkill.



    I quarantined early in the lockdown but we could work from home for the two weeks. I know thats a while ago though


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    #7
    Batgurl
    Registered Users Posts: 1,208 ✭✭✭Batgurl


    GarIT wrote: »
    The civil service is doing this. Requiring anyone who has left the country to take two weeks annual leave starting from the day they return to Ireland. Even green lost countries and even if you are working from home.

    Usually anything they do is above board.

    Hardly. A quick Google of The Marraige Bar & Ireland shows the civil service doesn’t exactly have a great track record with blanket decision-making.

    History will be the judge of whether this is legally compliant.


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    #8
    facehugger99
    Registered Users Posts: 7,225 ✭✭✭facehugger99


    Why would you be telling your workplace what you do in your spare time?


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    #9
    Augme
    Registered Users Posts: 5,155 ✭✭✭Augme


    Mrs OBumble wrote: »
    Have you got a link for that?


    https://www.peninsulagrouplimited.com/ie/guides/unpaid-leave/

    "But can an employer force unpaid leave? No. You should remember that forced unpaid leave isn’t legal in Ireland."


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    #10
    Augme
    Registered Users Posts: 5,155 ✭✭✭Augme


    GarIT wrote: »
    The civil service is doing this. Requiring anyone who has left the country to take two weeks annual leave starting from the day they return to Ireland. Even green lost countries and even if you are working from home.

    Usually anything they do is above board.


    The civil service department I work in certainly aren't doing this. A civil service dept ignoring/undermining official government advice is a very interesting one and an interesting decision that department has taken.


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    #11
    GarIT
    Registered Users Posts: 8,671 ✭✭✭GarIT


    Rob Thomas wrote: »
    So if you work from home and travel to a green list country you have to take 2 weeks off when you come back - you cant continue to work from home during that period?



    thats real overkill.



    I quarantined early in the lockdown but we could work from home for the two weeks. I know thats a while ago though

    I thought the email said it included green list countries. Bottom of page 17 here. https://www.gov.ie/en/news/092fff-update-on-working-arrangements-and-leave-associated-with-covid-19-fo/

    I thought an email said including green list but aybe I was mistaken. If you return from abroad (except NI and green list) you must take the 14 day restricted movement period as annual leave even if working from home. Applies to all civil and public servants.


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    #12
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    OMM 0000 wrote: »
    The need to pay you for the quarantine. That solves the problem and is reasonable.

    Why should they pay? Anyone traveling outside the country does so at their own risk.


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    #13
    GarIT
    Registered Users Posts: 8,671 ✭✭✭GarIT


    [Deleted User] wrote: »
    Why should they pay? Anyone traveling outside the country does so at their own risk.

    Because there is no reason to quarantine but they want you to so they should pay.


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    #14
    OMM 0000
    Registered Users Posts: 3,733 ✭✭✭OMM 0000


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Why should they pay? Anyone traveling outside the country does so at their own risk.

    Because the employer is requiring people take unpaid leave for no good reason.

    If the story was changed to the employer is having serious financial problems and needs people to take unpaid leave, I would have no issue with that, but what's happening here is the employer is pretending they are more knowledgeable than doctors and experts and are making up their own quarantine rules. Again I'd be ok with this if they paid the quarantine time, but instead they're punishing staff for no real reason.

    And why stop there?

    Why not force people to take unpaid leave if they go to a party and don't wear a mask?

    What about if they have a one night stand?

    What about if they've been visiting old folks home and letting people cough all over them?

    It seems they're OK with all of this stuff and just want to punish people for going on holiday. In fact, that makes me wonder if the real reason for this is they're super busy and are just trying to force people to postpone their holidays.


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    #15
    Thephantomsmask
    Registered Users Posts: 1,355 ✭✭✭Thephantomsmask


    GarIT wrote: »
    The civil service is doing this. Requiring anyone who has left the country to take two weeks annual leave starting from the day they return to Ireland. Even green lost countries and even if you are working from home.

    Usually anything they do is above board.

    They tried this for green list countries with circular 049 mid July, it was quietly rescinded 2 weeks later in a document on gov.ie without an accompanying circular that I am aware of.


    https://assets.gov.ie/72695/dbc0449786604105b46a79444f526a49.pdf


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    #16
    LegacyUser
    Registered Users Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    Hi everyone and thank you for the responses


    Just to answer a few points raised - why should they pay quarantine? Well, I don't feel like myself or my workmates should be punished with two weeks of no pay if we're following all of the government's guidelines. We're doing nothing wrong if we travel on the green list!

    Why would I tell them my plans? I wouldn't. I may have friends in work but I'm not stupid enough to tell them my travel plans (although I have none currently because family's countries aren't yet on any green list). However, I'm currently watching this being imposed on friends in my workplace who DID chat about their plans.


    Financial difficulty in the company - I'd take unpaid leave if necessary if the company were in difficulty but they're not, and they've assured us our jobs are completely safe.


    Busy periods - we are currently in a busy period but that doesn't seem to be their reason for restricting travel because we're allowed use our holidays. Some of us have 3+ weeks that we're being told to start using up.


    I understand requiring us to follow guidelines outside of work. I don't necessarily think they should be able to tell us what to do outside of work but it doesn't bother me because I'm following the guidelines from day one anyway.


    Telling us that their opinion and rules override government advice is angering me, though. I can afford to take unpaid leave to quarantine if necessary but I don't feel like I should have to if I'm going to a green list country.


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    #17
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    I know a number of people working the the public service who’s official policy at work is 14 days holiday for quarantine (unpaid if no holidays remaining) if you travel to a non-green list country even if you can fully work from home.

    My employer has asked us to please have a bit of sense and don’t go to pubs or restaurants and don’t meet groups of friends. They obviously can’t enforce it but I would be hopeful that people will heed it, I am certainly not going to these places or meeting people anyway long before work suggested it.


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