FAQs COVID-19: Updated 30 March 2020

The DES confirmed in the briefing on the 12^th March that they do not expect there to be a constant presence in primary schools and on 13^th March notified schools that school buildings should be available to staff if they wish to access the facilities in order to provide online delivery, or essential services once this is in line with HSE advice on social distancing.

All schools should cooperate with this in as far as they can, bearing in mind the following:

• All employees including teachers have been advised to work from home where possible. Therefore, any attendance in school must be only where the work being asked of them cannot be carried out from home.
• Social distancing measures are in place which require that people maintain physical distance from each other and that work breaks are staggered.

In relation to the work of principals, there may be tasks which require their attendance in school e.g. to manage post, online claims etc. However, this work should be carried out from home where possible.

Teachers have been advised by the Minister in his statement of 12^th March “that in order to minimise the impact on teaching and learning all schools will be asked to continue to plan lessons and, where possible, provide online resources for students or online lessons where schools are equipped to do so”. This should be the priority, bearing in mind that not all schools or homes have access to broadband/ appropriate technology to provide or engage with online resources/ lessons. Individual schools may give priority/ have capacity for other work, but any requests should be reasonable.

The Financial Services Support Unit (FSSU) note issued on 13^th March states that “caretaking, secretarial, cleaning and other staff should only be in the school as necessary” and that “all Board of Management employees should be paid during this period of school closure”.

The information note issued by DES Primary Payroll on 13^th March sets out the arrangements for the payment of salary/pension to staff paid by the DES during school closures due to Covid-19. Schools should not input a school closure on OLCS as they will then be unable to submit substitute claims.

Where a substitute was scheduled to work in the period of the school closure, then the school should continue to record that claim.  The substitute will be paid for that scheduled absence. Substitute claims cannot be claimed in advance on the OLCS, therefore, it is important that schools key all absences and input claims for substitutes on the OLCS as normal.

The Department of Employment and Social Affairs has issued revised guidance in relation to social welfare payments for those who have become unemployed as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. Substitute teachers who had not secured employment prior to the closure are advised to make application for the emergency payment / job seekers allowance for the duration of the closure. Any queries in relation to this should be addressed to your local Intreo office or mywelfare.ie.

If you are still unfit for work, you should continue to provide certification to your school and to apply for illness benefit (if you pay Class A PRSI). Paid sick leave will continue in line with the provisions set out in Chapter 1 of Circular 54/19.

If you recover, you should indicate to your school/ principal that you are now fit for work, and they should update the OLCS accordingly. If you have been absent for a short-term illness, on a medical certificate ending during the current closure, the school/ principal will follow the dates of the certificate and can end the sick leave during the closure. The principal can accept the teacher’s own doctor’s confirmation of their fitness.

If a teacher has been absent for a longer period – more than twenty-eight days consecutively or cumulatively in the past twelve months – they must be referred to the OHS, Medmark, and be certified as fit to work in order for the school/ principal to end the period of sick leave on the OLCS.

Medmark has confirmed to INTO that it is continuing to operate and will provide telephone consultations during this time, and will be in contact with affected members.

If you need to apply for Critical Illness Protocol, you should do so in the normal manner.

In summary, sick leave should be treated as if the school was in operation.

Schools/ principals and other OLCS inputters should continue to record and amend absences during the current closure, and the administrative aspect of sick leave will be managed as it would be if schools were open.

Sick leave should continue to be recorded, and substitute teachers who have been employed to cover the absences will remain in receipt of salary, for the duration of the medical certificate provided by a teacher.

Where a teacher is absent for a short-term illness, on a medical certificate ending during the current closure, you should follow the dates of the certificate and end the sick leave during the closure. The principal can accept the teacher’s own doctor’s confirmation of their fitness.

If a teacher has been absent for a longer period – more than twenty-eight days consecutively or cumulatively in the past twelve months – they must be referred to the OHS, Medmark, and be certified as fit to work in order for the school/ principal to end the period of sick leave on the OLCS. Medmark is continuing to operate and will provide telephone consultations during this time, and will be in contact with affected members.

Applications for critical illness should be processed in the normal manner.

In summary, sick leave should be treated as if the school was in operation.

The information note issued by the DES Payroll on 12^th March is very clear that leave cannot be changed where an absence has been recorded on the OLCS and a substitute has been contracted to cover the leave:

Scheduled leave absences which have already been recorded on the OLCS cannot be deleted/amended as a result of the government direction to close schools.  Where a substitute was scheduled to work in the period of the school closure, then the school should continue to record that claim.  The substitute will be paid for that scheduled absence.

There are various categories of unpaid leave, with various conditions attaching to the schemes. (see below)

Any changes to unpaid leave will be at the discretion of the Board of Management/ ETB. This is not applicable to leave which has already been inputted and processed on the OLCS and therefore, cannot be changed (see above). Boards/ETBs should take into account whether or not they have engaged a substitute teacher to cover a leave absence, in considering such requests.

The information note issued by the DES is clear that recorded leaves of absence shouldn’t be amended solely on the basis of the current closure. However, Boards / ETBs may take into account that teacher’s personal circumstances may have changed since the application for leave was made and may wish to accommodate requests on that basis.

Unpaid Maternity Leave

Per Circular 54/2019, Chapter Two, part 17.1:

Termination of Statutory Additional Unpaid Maternity/Father’s Leave

An application to take statutory additional unpaid Maternity Leave or statutory additional unpaid Father’s Leave, may be withdrawn in writing, for any reason, up to 4 weeks prior to the proposed commencement date for such leave. If the 4 week cancellation period provided for in the Act has passed, entitlement to withdraw an application has been lost.”

Statutory Unpaid Adoptive Leave

Per Circular 54/2019, Chapter Three, part 15.1:

Termination of Statutory Additional Unpaid Adoptive/Father’s Leave

An application to take statutory additional unpaid Adoptive Leave, or statutory additional unpaid Father’s Leave, may be withdrawn in writing, for any reason, up to 4 weeks prior to the proposed commencement date of such leave. If the 4 week cancellation period provided for in the Act has passed, entitlement to withdraw an application has been lost.”

Parental Leave

Per circular 54/2019, Chapter Five, parts 12 and 14

The parental leave circular makes provision for parental leave to be suspended by the teacher in the event that the teacher becomes too ill to care for their child, of if the employer believes the teacher is using the parental leave for a purpose other than child-care.

Otherwise, as per the Confirmation Document at Appendix B of the relevant chapter,

Following signing, no amendment can be made to the Confirmation Document without the agreement of both parties. A copy of the Confirmation Document should be retained by the teacher.”

Discretionary unpaid leave

Circular 54/2019 Chapter Eleven is silent on the withdrawal of a request for unpaid leave days, so this may be addressed on a case by case basis by schools.

If the leave has been recorded on the OLCS and a substitute has been engaged to cover the absences, this arrangement will be unaffected by the current school closure and the substitute will be paid. If a substitute has not been employed, a Board of Management/ ETB may allow for the withdrawal of the leave request, subject to Primary Payroll operational

deadlines.

Career Break and Job Share applications for 2020/21

A teacher has up to 14 April to withdraw an application for a career break or job share for next school year. Career break and job share applications after this date may only be withdrawn at the discretion of the Board of Management and will usually be facilitated if the school have not yet employed a fixed term teacher for the year ahead.

Please note, this condition is highlighted for the benefit of teachers who may find themselves in changed financial circumstances due to recent events. The INTO has no cause to believe that schools will remain closed into the start of the new school year.

Carer’s Leave

Per paragraph 12.1 of Chapter 6 of 54/2019:

The period of Carer’s Leave shall terminate on the date specified on the Confirmation Document at the time of application, except where the relevant person:

• ceases to require full-time care and attention during the period of Carer’s Leave, or
• dies during a period of Carer’s Leave.

Otherwise, per the Confirmation Document at Appendix B of the relevant chapter,

Following signing, no amendment can be made to the Confirmation Document without the agreement of both parties. A copy of the Confirmation Document should be retained by the teacher.”

5. Staffing and Redeployment

If you have not done so already, you should complete the relevant sections of the Main Panel Application Form (Appendix E Circular 18/20) and send to the Chairperson of the Board of Management /CEO (for Community National Schools). Your principal should be able to assist with this. The DES has extended the closing date for receipt of these forms to Friday 3^rd April. We encourage you to cooperate with this deadline to minimise disruption to the staffing and redeployment process for the next school year.

The DES has notified us that the date for return of forms and documentation related to the Staffing Circular (Main Panel Application Forms, CID forms, Staffing Appeals Applications) has been extended to April 3^rd  (from 27^th March). INTO encourages principals and teachers to complete and return these forms as soon as they can, if they can do so safely and in line with Covid- 19 Guidelines, in order to minimise disruption to the staffing and redeployment process for the next school year.

INTO has discussed with Cornmarket the maintenance of their services for members – regarding insurance, AVC and salary protection schemes – during the current health crisis.

Cornmarket confirm that they remain open. In addition to services from their main offices, within the next couple of days most of their staff will be working from home and in a position to take calls/emails. The company is writing to all their customers to provide assurances of support. FAQs will be included in the communication – on AVCs, Salary Protection and other insurance schemes. See www.cornmarket.ie

Comhar Linn has advised INTO that members of the credit union can do any transaction over the phone, via their online accounts or through email during the period that the office is closed to the public. An emergency loan package is being developed to assist members whose incomes are impacted by Covid-19. https://www.comharlinnintocu.ie/

Teacherwise, the approved INTO Home Insurance provider, have confirmed to INTO that all of their staff  have access to secure, remote phone systems to ensure service levels are fully maintained during the current health crisis. Furthermore, and for members’ peace of mind, queries and new quotes will be handled by the Teacherwise team in addition to the online facility. https://www.jlt.ie/unions_into.html