Following An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's announcement on Friday, 27 March 2020 that people are now required to stay at home until Sunday, 12 April 2020, Deirdre Crowley, partner and Denise Moran, associate, consider the latest and most restrictive measures imposed by the Government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and what such measures mean for employers in Ireland.

This guidance is up-to-date as of 2 April 2020 and as the situation continues to develop at a rapid speed, we will continue to keep you informed.

What was announced on Friday?

In what came as a surprise to many, the Irish Government announced that from midnight that Friday until Sunday,

12 April 2020, people would be required to stay at home except in the below specific exceptions. The Irish Government stated simply that staying at home would constitute "the best way to minimise the risk of COVID-19 to friends, families and communities".

The exceptions provided are exhaustive and make it abundantly clear that the threshold for deviating from the instruction to stay at home is very high. The permitted exceptions are as follows:

  • to shop for essential food, beverage and household goods or to collect a meal;
  • to attend medical appointments and collect medicines and other health products for either the person themselves, their family members or for someone who is vulnerable or cocooning;
  • for vital family reasons including caring for children, the elderly or for vulnerable people. This expressly excludes social family visits;
  • to travel to and from work where the work is considered an essential service. The list of essential services can be accessed here and we have also set out the details further below; and
  • to take brief individual physical exercise within two kilometres of one's home, which may include with children from the household where the strict two metre social distancing measures are adhered to.

What are employers required to do following this announcement?

Employers are required to determine, with reference to the guidance provided, whether or not their organisation is providing

an essential service. It is not necessary to seek official authorisation in this regard, nor is there any available mechanism for businesses to seek confirmation from the Irish Government that their business is deemed to provide an essential service.

Where an employer determines that it is providing an essential service, in line with the guidance provided, the employees who are essential to the provision of that service should be identified and notified accordingly. This may or may not include all employees of the organisation and a review of all employee categories and their roles should be undertaken to identify which employees provide an essential service. The Irish Government has extended this to contractors who also provide essential services.

Employees who are identified as being essential are required, at all times when travelling to and from work, to carry either a work identification or a letter from the organisation outlining that he / she is an essential employee, as well as one other form of identification. It is important that employers notify employees of this requirement and provide them with a confirmation letter where they do not have a work identification.

The Irish Government has provided that all organisations who provide essential services should have business continuity and resilience plans in place and that these provide for the possibility that key workers or key facilities may be impacted by COVID-19.

For all organisations deemed to be providing an essential service, latest public health guidance must be adhered to at all times. Where an organisation is not engaged in the provision of essential services, then its employees are not permitted to travel to and from work until these restrictions are lifted.

The Irish Government also announced a grace period until 6pm on Monday, 30 March for people who needed to make the necessary arrangements to wind down their activities in an orderly way but that should, however, have been done in a way that minimised travel and personal interaction as much as possible. In exceptional circumstances, it is accepted that some extra time will be needed to effectively wind down the activity, or that it may be necessary for the site to continue to operate at a reduced level of activity, for example in complex manufacturing processes or very large construction projects.

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Originally published April 6, 2020

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.