The government has suspended flexitime for civil and public servants as it attempts to mobilise its 340,000 employees to address the most pressing demands generated by the Covid-19 virus.
The flexitime system allows staff to complete their full working hours while varying their arrival, departure and break times, often to accommodate caring responsibilities.
However, in today's updated guidelines on public service working arrangements during the Covid-19 emergency, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform states: "The operation of traditional flexi-time/attendance management rules do not support the flexible arrangements and agility required during this extraordinary situation."
DPER goes on to state: "The normal operation of flexi-time or equivalent attendance management rules, including any flexi-time accruals and deficits, is to be temporarily suspended during the period of COVID-19 to facilitate the required new ways of working across the public service".
The guidelines say this does not preclude organisations from using clocking-in and clocking-out arrangements that apply, adding that any flexitime balances already accrued prior to today's suspension can be held over until the Covid-19 working arrangements are no longer in place.
Public servants who fall ill or self-isolate with Covid-19 will receive "special leave with pay", comprised of basic pay and fixed allowances, and any sick leave will not be deducted from their sick leave record.
DPER has previously issued guidance for public service organisations on how to manage Covid-19 sick leave or self-isolation, and has instructed them to facilitate working from home and other flexibilities to the greatest extent possible to ensure work can continue as normal.
Where remote working is not possible, and the employee is neither ill nor self-isolating, they must be considered available for work "including temporary assignment of work outside their usual core duties/a new role as required by the Public Service" to respond to the unprecedented crisis.
In relation to temporary assignments to ease pressure points like contact tracing and processing of social welfare payments, organisations are asked to identify employees who are deemed to be "releasable" in the context of their business continuity plan for the temporary assignment scheme.
The guidelines state that while the initial call for temporary staff is from the HSE, many other essential public services may require short term support.
Employees deemed "releasable" will be required to complete a questionnaire indicating their skillset and up to 3 preferred counties for temporary assignment, but when assigned, the new location will be treated as their new base, and they will not receive travel and subsistence expenses.
There may be potential for remote working while on temporary assignment.
Assignments will initially last from several weeks to three months, with a possible extension if required.
The largest public service union Fórsa said it accepted the necessity for suspending flexitime - but stressed that the temporary status of this arrangement was crucial.
In a bulletin to its 80,000 members, the union agreed with the Department's view of a need for public-service wide solidarity at a time when Covid-19 has had an "unprecedented impact' on normal working arrangements.
The bulletin states: "In fact, flexitime has already either formally or effectively been suspended in the majority of public service employments where it was in place. These include the HSE, major civil service departments including social protection, and a number of local authorities."
Fórsa also highlighted the fact that flexitime balances already accrued could be retained until after the Covid-19 emergency ends.
