Commercial & Business, Employment & Health and Safety, Insights

COVID-19 UPDATE – Employee Scenarios

COVID-19 UPDATE Alert level 3

Employee 1: is working in an essential service or is able to fully work from home. Company is functioning as normal with no real loss of revenue

Yay! The employee is paid their usual wage, and life goes on.

Employee 2: is partly able to work from home or at work (either because of role or because of decrease in work), Company does not meet 30% revenue decline threshold to apply for the Wage Subsidy

If there is a decline in work, or the employee can only do part of their role from home, you should consult with them about a temporary drop in hours (and therefore associated pay) – i.e. during the lockdown; or for 4 weeks and to be reviewed. You may be able to agree that they can take accumulated annual leave to top up the difference. If the employee agrees to this, try to get the agreement in writing – even just a text. If the employee does not agree, and you cannot afford to keep them on their full wage, you may need to consult with them about making their role redundant. Note, that the employee’s entitlement to annual leave will continue to accrue, but will drop on a pro rata basis. You should let them know this also.