You may have heard about the HSE’s COVID-19 Contact Tracing App. You may even be one of the one million-plus people in Ireland to download it since it became available on July 6th.
To clarify the impact of the app on employers, we detail what you need to know below.
What’s the purpose of the app?
The purpose of the app is to identify when one person comes into ‘close contact’ with another based on Bluetooth ‘handshakes’ between their devices. A handshake occurs when one person spends more than fifteen minutes within two metres of another person.
If someone tests positive for COVID-19 and voluntarily confirms their diagnosis on the app, the app will notify all close contacts who have recently been exposed to the infected person.
Under HSE advice, all close contacts are required to stay home for fourteen days, even if they have no symptoms.
So, what’s the employer’s role?
The Government has called on employers to encourage their staff to follow the rules and support them in staying away from work if they need to isolate. Given that the app will help facilitate social distancing, encouraging staff to use it is something that you should consider to help safeguard your workplace.
If you decide to ask staff to use the app, you’re going to need to review your IT policies. Why? Because you may have policies in place that don’t allow the download of external applications onto company mobile phones.
Another possible unintended consequence of the app’s launch is that the more identified close contacts, the more employees will need to take two weeks off work with limited notice. It’s vital therefore that you’re aware of what to do in this situation.
Employer essentials
Firstly, there’s no legal obligation for you to pay employees who are absent through illness. This includes staff who are advised to self-isolate. Some employers do provide a contractual right to paid sick leave. However, this is usually capped for a maximum period and reduced by the amount of any Illness Benefit the employee is entitled to claim from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.
Employees who are directed to self-isolate by the HSE are also entitled to apply for the COVID-19 Illness Benefit. If you don’t provide a contractual right to paid sick leave, employees who are notified that they’re close contacts and required to self-isolate may be entitled to rely on the statutory COVID-19 Illness Benefit which is now paid at €350 per week. The COVID-19 Illness Benefit is paid for a maximum of two weeks where a person is self-isolating.
To receive the COVID-19 Illness Benefit, close contact employees must:
- Be suspected of having COVID-19 and directed by a doctor or the HSE to self-isolate.
- Have confirmation of the direction from the HSE either in text or letter format.
- Have been in paid employment for four weeks prior to making the claim.
The Government accepts that not everyone contacted will display symptoms. As such, you could consider investigating if these individuals could work from home on full pay during their period of self-isolation. If this isn’t possible, or they do become unwell, they’ll need to be paid under your sick pay policy or directed to apply for the COVID-19 Illness Benefit for the duration of their two-week self-isolation.
Need our help?
If you would like further complimentary advice on the COVID-19 Tracing App from an expert, our advisors are ready to take your call any time day or night. Call us on 0818 923 923 or request a callback here.
