LCR22859

Scheme for Health Care Workers who find themselves with COVID / Long COVID.

BACKGROUND:

This dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of Conciliation Conferences under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission. As agreement was not reached, the dispute was referred to the Labour Court.

RECOMMENDATION:

The Court has given very careful consideration to the written and oral submissions of the parties. The Court noted that current arrangements to provide for the effects of ‘Long COVID’ were extended from 31st October 2023 to 31st March 2024. That development was notified to the parties and the Court on the eve of the hearing of the Court.

The submissions of the parties made clear that there is no agreement between them that a causative link has been established between contraction of COVID 19 by health workers and the fact of their working in the health service. The Court made clear to the parties that it was not for the Court to classify a specific illness as an occupational illness or to give a view as to the causative link, if any, between contraction of COVID 19 and working in the health service.

It is clear from the submissions of the parties that three areas of claim are in dispute, and the Court’s recommendations in respect of each area are as follows:

Period of payment for self-isolation

Special Leave with Pay for COVID 19 is an arrangement separate from normal sick pay arrangements. Arrangements have evolved since 2020 in accordance with the evolution of health advice generally.

The Trade Unions submit that when a staff member is diagnosed with Covid 19 he or she should be entitled to 10 days special leave with pay. It was submitted that this had been the arrangement initially with effect from February 2022 until that was changed to 7 days special leave with pay in July 2022 and to 5 days from 18th April 2023.

The employer submitted that a worker can, in accordance with health advice generally, return to work after five days of isolation. In the health service, a local risk assessment can take at the point of a return to work, especially where the worker’s duties may require them to be in contact with vulnerable patients. Where re-assignment is necessary after such an assessment the worker would normally be re-assigned to other duties for five days. Where re-assignment is decided not to be possible for practical reasons the worker would normally receive Special Leave with pay for a further five days.

The Trade Unions clarified to the Court that there was no objection to re-assignment of a worker where possible upon a return to work following five days of isolation and receipt of Special Leave with pay.

Neither party were able to clarify to the Court the degree to which current arrangements impact negatively upon workers or the extent to which a change to current arrangements could impact the delivery of health services.

Recommendation of the Court

Having regard to the submissions of the parties, the Court regards the arrangements in place as regards a return to work after five days in receipt of Special leave with Pay to be reasonable and does not recommend concession of the claim of the trade union side.

Establishment of a special scheme for health care workers who have developed Long Covid

The Court noted that the existing special scheme to offer protection to health workers who have contracted ‘Long Covid’ which was due to expire on 31st October 2023 has now been extended to 31st March 2024.

The parties were unable to specify to the Court the extent to which the arrangements surrounding qualification for this scheme negatively affects workers in the health service.

Recommendation of the Court

Noting the extension of the scheme to 31st March 2024, the Court recommends that the parties jointly engage in the period prior to 31st March 2024 to explore the matter of persons with ‘Long Covid’ in the health service taking account of the availability of the range of support arrangements already in place including normal sick pay arrangements and TRR etc which together are contended to provide support across a period of years to workers affected by ‘Long COVID’.

Claim on behalf of workers suffering with Long Covid who were denied access to schemes based solely on the date they acquired the infection.

This claim relates to those workers who may have been affected by the qualification dates which form part of current arrangements including the special scheme which has now been extended to 31st March 2023.

The Court noted that the parties were unable to provide details of the number of workers affected negatively by such dates or to otherwise quantify the claim before the Court.

In those circumstances, the Court does not believe it would be responsible or reasonable to make recommendations to change the structure of the current scheme or schemes.

Recommendation of the Court

The Court therefore Recommends that the parties engage jointly in the period prior to 31st March 2024 to develop their shared understanding of the factual framework underpinning the issue raised by the Trade Unions and to seek to find agreement against a shared understand of that framework. Any dispute remaining at the end of such further engagement should be referred through normal agreed procedures up to and including a further referral to the Court if necessary.

The Court so recommends.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Kevin Foley
DC	______________________
16/11/2023	Chairman