Return to early childhood services and WHS: Information for IEU members
With increasing numbers of children returning to your early childhood service, the IEU wishes to ensure that work health and safety requirements are in place for staff and children at your service.
Please complete this short survey by Wednesday 13 May so that we have a clearer picture whether our members are safe and what is happening at your service https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ECS_IEU_Covid
Many services have now registered for JobKeeper (see overview attached) and have applied for various forms of emergency funding that is available to the sector. We are aware of some employers in receipt of JobKeeper payments asking staff to permanently drop their hours and asking staff to use all of their annual leave. Has your employer requested that you change your conditions of employment as a result of falling attendance at your service? Please feel free to contact the union to discuss any changes to your employment as a result of the pandemic.
Are you classified as a vulnerable worker? Information can be found at the following link:https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/advice-for-people-at-risk-of-coronavirus-covid-19
Your employer should allow you to work from home doing such things as programming, planning, updating children’s records or, if no work is available, enabling you to access your leave.
With specific reference to pregnant women, the provisions of the Fair Work Act relating to paid no safe job leave state that pregnant employees cannot be required to access personal/carer’s leave if there is no safe job available and must be provided with a different form of leave, ie paid no safe job leave.
Union membership is vital at this time. If there are teachers in your service who are not union members, please encourage them to join www.ieu.asn.au
Please contact your union if you have any queries or concerns.
