What’s happening?
Further to our legal update regarding school closures yesterday, the Government has published the list of key workers and confirmed which children are likely to fall in to the category of vulnerable.
Why is this important?
Children who are considered vulnerable or who have parents falling in the category of key workers will still be able to go to school. This means that their parents should still be able to come to work or work from home (depending on your current policy).
However, the Government has asked that, if any of these children can be safely cared for at home, then they should be. This may mean that if one of your staff shares care of a child with a key worker, they still may need to take time off or work from home to care for their child.
Key workers include those in
- Health and social care
- Education and childcare
- Key public services
- Local and National government
- Food and other necessary goods
- Public safety and national security
- Transport
- Utilities, communication and financial services
Follow this link for examples of workers who may fall into these categories.
Vulnerable children include:
- Those supported by social care
- Those with safeguarding and welfare needs, including child in need plans or child protection plans
- ‘Looked after’ children (in the care of or provided with accommodation for longer than 24 hours by a Lo cal Authority)
- Young carers
- Disabled children
- Those with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans.
The Government have confirmed that they will also support head teachers who want to provide support to children who may not fall in this list, but who face social difficulties.
What should you do?
You should audit your staff to see if any fall into these categories. If they don’t (as far as you are aware) or they share the care of their child with a key worker, then you need to consider taking the steps in our previous legal update which can be found here.
The schools will be closing from today, so you need to ensure you act quickly to avoid further disruption to your business next week.
If you need any further guidance, please contact our experienced team of employment solicitors on 0800 2800 421 or email Employment.Alert@trethowans.com to find out how we can help.