Things will eventually get back to a new ‘normal’ and while we are working towards that by staying at home and social distancing, there are some housekeeping activities that employers have to keep note of.
Yes there is new legislation that has changed how many of us work, but that didn’t simply bin all of the existing legislation. For example under the Organisation of Working Time Act an employer is obliged to keep track of the rest breaks their employees have on a daily basis.
Some businesses did this by using clock-in systems, some manually noted it and others did nothing and hoped that it would never be an issue. We would always say to the later employer: just because your house has never been robbed wouldn’t mean you should leave your front door open.
If you have employees working from home our advise would be to send out a group email/text along the lines of the following:
Dear All,
We would be obliged if you could take a note on a daily basis of the rest breaks you are availing of. These should be in line with what you were taking while working in the office (on-site).
We will need to keep a copy of these records in the office when things return to normal and so ask that you enter your rest breaks into your outlook diary/email XX at the end of each day with your rest breaks/keep a written record in your diary.
If you are unable to take your rest breaks or if you are having problems with your workload please contact XX as soon as possible so that we can help you.
Finally, we hope that you and your family are keeping safe and well during this difficult time.
Yours faithfully,
Management
There may come a time when you, as an employer, will have to show that your employee was able to take breaks and that you did your best to honour your obligations as an employer during this difficult time.
If ESA can help you with any HR, health and safety or employment law matter please don’t hesitate to contact us on [email protected] or 01 8774608.
Stay safe and wash your hands!