Coronavirus school closures and working parents

What happens if I cannot go to work because of the school closures? Will I be able to take time off? Will I be paid?

With the announcement that Scottish schools will close from Friday, working parents may struggle to go to work, or indeed to work effectively from home in the event of a general shutdown.

Traditionally, employment law allows parents or carers to take time off to look after dependants in the case of an unexpected event or emergency.  However, this is generally used to allow employees to take a day or two off in order to deal with an immediate and unforeseen difficulty or to put arrangements in place if the issue is likely to be more long-term.  It is possible that the government might extend this right to deal with the current Covid-19 emergency.  However, crucially, employees are not entitled to be paid for this time off to care for dependants. This right to emergency time off is therefore of limited value to working parents when faced with an extended period of school closure. 

Can I take unpaid time off?

There is existing law allowing parents to take unpaid parental leave. Currently there is a limit of four weeks per year that can be taken (unless the employer agrees differently) and there must be notice given of 21 days. But in these extraordinary circumstances, employers may be more relaxed on these usual requirements and we may even see a change in the law. More information is available on .gov.uk

What if I am sick or have to self-isolate when they are off school?

If the parent or carer is ill during this period, or is required to self-isolate, they will likely qualify for statutory sick pay.  The rules on statutory sick pay have already been relaxed to provide that SSP is available from the first day of sickness and there is some speculation that statutory sick pay (or the rules around qualification for SSP) may be further amended.

What are my options?

It is likely that, where at all possible, employers will allow employees to work from home.  If this is not possible, either because of the nature of the work or because of the employee’s circumstances, then it might be possible to agree either shorter hours (in the workplace or at home) or a different working pattern to fit around the employee’s responsibilities.  For short periods of cover, employees may have accrued annual leave or time off in lieu which could be used to provide a period of paid time off work.

Will the government provide any assistance with this?

Given the very significant impact which the school closures will have on working parents, and therefore the wider economy, it is expected that the government may shortly announce further measures aimed at supporting both employers and employees, with the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, yesterday announcing ‘significant, direct fiscal action’ within days to support jobs and incomes.*

*Since the time of writing the government have relaxed the regulations around Statutory Sick Pay and introduced a Furlough Scheme. See our other posts for more information.