Covid-19 information for staff

You may have seen on the news that some local restrictions have been introduced in East Renfrewshire. These also apply to Glasgow City and West Dunbartonshire.

These measures were decided upon and implemented by the Scottish Government, in collaboration with the NHS and the three councils in response to increasing rates of positive Coronavirus tests in the areas. It is thought that positive cases have been linked to household gatherings; so restrictions on these gatherings has been put in place to slow the spread of the virus.

Schools and nurseries will remain open, and people who were previously shielding are asked to be particularly vigilant.

The additional restrictions were introduced for an initial two-week period from midnight last night and will be reviewed after one week, on 9 September.

The message for staff remains the same - if you can work from home, you should.

We must remain vigilant and, if you are in any doubt as to whether a visit to a resident's home is needed as part of your duties, then please speak to your manager.

These local measures also reinforce the need for us to continue with the arrangements we already have in place for working in our offices/buildings. Please continue to adhere to the rotas for access to our sites. Any exceptions to this must be agreed and planned with the relevant senior manager.

As of midnight on Tuesday 1 September (last night), the restrictions are as follows:

• people in the Glasgow, East Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire local authority areas should not meet with people from other households in indoor household settings, whether in these areas or elsewhere. Members of different households can continue to meet outdoors, including in gardens, and in hospitality settings, provided all existing guidance is followed
• if anyone living in these areas is identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, they and all those in their household group should self-isolate for 14 days
• indoor visits to hospitals and care homes will be limited to essential visits only to protect the most vulnerable. Outdoor visits to care homes are permitted by three people from a maximum of two households, in line with current guidance.

Those households who have formed an extended household and people providing care and support - for example caring for an elderly family member or delivering shopping - can continue to meet indoors with enhanced hygiene measures in place.

As our most important resource, please continue to take care of yourselves whether you are in the office or home working. Follow the appropriate guidance and remember to build in time to catch up with your colleagues, whether this is a socially distant or virtual tea/coffee.

Further guidance is available from the Scottish Government, and will be regularly updated.

We have included some Frequently Asked Questions below, and will add to these as required.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What restrictions are in place?

People living in the East Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire and Glasgow City Council areas are unable to have any visitors to their households and are unable to visit other households, regardless of where these are.

• Why are these restrictions in place?

These Council areas have seen a significant rise in positive Covid tests in the last 7 days, with analysis from Test & Protect professionals indicating this rise has been linked to household gatherings. In order to try to limit further spread, restrictions have been put in place against what has been considered the greatest risk.

• How long will these restrictions last?

It is anticipated these restrictions will be in place for two weeks; but this will be reviewed after one week.

• What about Council and HSCP services?

Council & HSCP services for the health, safety and wellbeing of the community can continue. Where household visits are part of this service, current guidance is that these can take place. Officers' role will have undergone a full Covid Risk Assessment and they will have appropriate PPE and hygiene measures for the safety of all concerned. Where staff are concerned about the need for further PPE or protections, these can be raised with their managers.

• Why aren't schools & nurseries closed?

Schools and nurseries are subject to very stringent controls and guidance that will minimise the risk of the virus from spreading. This includes enhanced cleaning, PPE and distancing measures. Additionally, analysis by Test & Protect professionals continues to show there is low risk of the spread of virus in these environments. Household gatherings have been restricted due to assessments showing that these are linked to the spike in positive Covid tests in the area.

• Why aren't Bars, Restaurants, etc. closed?

Bars, restaurants and other venues are subject to very stringent controls - including cleaning, PPE and distancing. Additionally, they are required to collect and maintain details of any visitors to their premises for the purposes of Test & Protect. Analysis by Test & Protect professionals have shown that household gatherings are linked to the increase in positive Covid test results in the area.

Remember FACTS for a safer Scotland:

• F - Face coverings. These should be used in shops and on public transport (buses, trains and taxis)
• A - Avoid crowded places
• C - Clean your hands frequently, using water & soap whenever possible
• T - Two metres - observe physical distancing
• S - Self-isolate and book a test if you are suffering from COVID-19 symptoms

As we continue to deal with the pandemic, plans for our recovery to the new normal have been getting developed for a number of weeks.

Staff who can work from home should continue to do so, as we gradually introduce measures that would allow more people to access council buildings.

When buildings do reopen, the occupancy levels will be vastly reduced (at around one third until the 2m social distancing rule is changed) which means that initially only specific teams will be able to return to the office and only if absolutely necessary.

Even when buildings do reopen, staff should not return to the office unless they have had a specific request from their line manager to do so.  

It's also important that if staff do need to visit an office building they only do so for as little time as possible. For example, to dock your laptop or to print key documents.

New procedures will be in place for all staff when entering buildings, such as one way systems, observing social distancing, only using designated desks and avoiding the use of lifts, where possible.

These measures are being put in place to ensure the safety of staff who are returning to offices and give them confidence that appropriate procedures are in place.

More information about these procedures will be shared in advance of buildings being opened up to increased numbers of staff in due course.

Barrhead

The Barrhead office has remained open throughout to support critical services, such as ICT and social work. However, from Monday 29 June, the registrations service will also resume in the Barrhead office.

Birth registrations have been suspended since the start of lockdown, so access for this team is absolutely vital as they work throughout the backlog of registrations.

Eastwood HQ

It's also planned that Eastwood HQ will be opened again for a very limited number of staff soon. More details on this will be communicated directly to those staff impacted.

Thornliebank Depot

The Thornliebank Depot has remained open throughout, with measures in place, and the office space within the depot will not be back in use until further notice.

Spiersbridge

Limited capacity at Spiersbridge is being explored and more information will be provided as soon as possible.

If you've specific questions about recovery plans for your service, please speak to your line manager.

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In these challenging times it's important we all look after ourselves to maintain our wellbeing and resilience. We need to ensure we have appropriate time away from work duties. Therefore, everyone is being encouraged to take annual leave over the coming months. This will ensure that we maintain our health and wellbeing. It'll also ensure that annual leave is being staggered over the course of the year, so services can return to normal without significant staff shortages when the current Covid-19 related restrictions are lifted.   

It's appreciated that in critical services it may be more challenging for requests for annual leave to be approved. In these services, managers are being encouraged to approve annual leave requests where operationally feasible. Where this isn't possible, arrangements will be made for these employees to carry over unused leave into future annual leave in accordance with the latest UK Government advice. 

Read UK Government advice.

It's anticipated that this provision will be limited to our critical services only and in all other service areas every effort should be made for annual leave to be taken with only standard carry over arrangements in place at the end of the leave year. However, we'll continue to review legislation and any updated amendments issued. 

Pre booked annual leave

Due to current travel restrictions, it's acknowledged that employees may request to cancel pre-booked annual leave. In non critical services it is recommended that annual leave bookings continue as originally planned or agreement is made with the employee and manager for alternative dates when the leave will be taken.

Whilst we appreciate that it might not be ideal taking a holiday in your house, we ask that our employees remain mindful of their own wellbeing and also the operational challenges and limitations should everyone want to take leave in the later part of the year.

In critical services, managers may need to approach employees who have periods of pre booked leave to request that this leave is taken at a later date. Employees are requested to be flexible and consider these requests. In extreme cases where agreement can't be reached, managers may need to consider giving the employee notification that their annual leave could be cancelled. In these extreme circumstances managers will need to speak to HR beforehand.

A simple 4-step process should be followed for suspected or confirmed cases in our facilities

As restrictions around Council, HSCP and East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure facilities begin to ease, the risk of concerns relating to Covid-19 increase.

This is where the Test & Protect strategy will be crucial in minimising the risk of future outbreaks.

Our Environmental Health Service are embedded into Test & Protect and will be at the forefront of the Council's response to suspected or confirmed cases and potential outbreaks arising.

With this in mind, it is crucial if you have concerns that someone is symptomatic of Covid-19 in a Council, HSCP or Trust setting, you inform Environmental Health - using the process below:

If someone is Covid-19 symptomatic or positive
1. Collect the details on the  suspected Covid-19 information sheet (Word doc) [16KB]
2. Email the contact sheet to contacttracing@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk
3. Proceed to follow links to advice for staff on this page and/or Scottish Government guidance.
4. Inform the Building Responsible Person of the area and number of people affected

This process is linked to the Council's  Local outbreak control plan (Word doc) [59KB] . Please note that there is a data sharing between the Council and NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, which includes Public Health Scotland. Any information requested / shared will be compliant with data protection requirements and the Council's  Covid privacy notice (PDF) [142KB] .

A risk assessment checklist should be completed prior to the return to the workplace for every employee in the higher risk/clinically vulnerable group, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups or who are pregnant. Appendix A includes a Covid-19 Age Checklist which enables individuals to estimate their own personal risk level. Visit the Gov.Scot website (opens new window) for more information about the approach and the Covid-19 Age Checklist.

Employees who are pregnant are classified as being as higher risk/clinically vulnerable and in these cases both a new and expectant mothers risk assessment form and a employee risk assessment should be completed for each pregnant employee.

Assessment should be considered on a case by case basis. The risk assessment checklist should be completed in conjunction with reference to the service specific Covid-19 risk assessment that covers job related tasks.

Download an employee risk assessment form (Word doc) [28KB] (opens new window) .

Download a new and expectant mothers risk assessment form (Word doc) [78KB] (opens new window) .

Please contact the Corporate Health and Safety Unit or your HR Business Partner team if you've any questions.

There is a huge range of support available if you or someone you love is struggling with their mental health during the pandemic.  Some sources of support and advice are listed below. Remember that all employees can access confidential counselling 24 hours per day 7 day per week by phoning the free help line on telephone number 0800 882 4102 or by email counsellingteam@pamassist.co.uk

In April the Scottish Government launched the "Clear Your Head" campaign to help people look after their own mental health and wellbeing during and after the pandemic. The campaign provides people with practical advice on coping with the current restrictions.

Clear Your Head

Young Scot, the Mental Health Foundation and SAMH have produced dedicated resources on their own websites to provide information on mental health during the pandemic. Samaritans has launched a new self-help app and has adapted its ways of working to continue to support people through its phone, email and web-based services, 24/7.

Young Scot

Email: info@young.scot

Phone: 0808 801 0338

Mental Health Foundation Scotland

SAMH

Email: info@samh.org.uk

Phone: 0344 800 0550

Open 9am-6pm, Monday to Friday (except Bank Holidays).

Samaritans

Phone: 116 123

Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Specific support for health and social care workers

Wellbeing support services are available through the National Wellbeing Hub which signposts staff, unpaid carers, volunteers and their families to relevant services and provides a range of self-care and wellbeing resources designed to support the workforce as they respond to the impact of COVID-19.

All health and social care workers can access mental health support through the national wellbeing helpline, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The number to call is 0800 111 4191.

Wearing a face covering is currently optional in the workplace. If you choose to wear one, it is important to use face coverings properly and follow these guidelines:

• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser before putting a face covering on, and after removing it.
• When wearing a face covering, avoid touching your face or face covering, as you could contaminate them with germs from your hands.
• Change your face covering if it becomes damp or if you've touched it.
• Continue to wash your hands regularly.
• Change and wash your face covering daily.
• If the material is washable, wash in line with manufacturer's instructions. If it's not washable, dispose of it carefully in your usual waste.

When choosing a face covering to wear at work please remember that you should not wear anything that would cause offence to customers or other employees, as per the Council's Code of Conduct.

View further information on face coverings on the Scottish Government website.

As we aim to deal with the ongoing situation with the Covid-19 pandemic, there's no doubt that at any level this will challenge us in how we deliver essential services, particularly those that affect the vulnerable members of our community.

We're currently working with services to review business continuity arrangements and to prioritise essential services. 

For some of us it may mean that our role changes for a time to support colleagues delivering other services. Though we have not faced anything of this scale before, we know from previous situations that you'll support this and that where we can we will help out and support our colleagues. 

In order to plan for this it would be extremely helpful to gather information now on any employees who would be willing to be redeployed to support the delivery of priority service areas should this be required. This could involve utilising employee's skills in a different department, job role, location or outside of their normal working hours. 

To allow us to capture some basic information on how you would be willing to support the delivery of our essential services please complete the volunteer form as soon as possible and return by email to hrrecruitment@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk or submit a hard copy to:

HR Direct
Eastwood Park
Rouken Glen Road
Giffnock
G46 6UG

Complete a volunteer form (Word doc) [64KB]

If you, and a dependant who lives with you, or a relative for whom you have caring responsibilities for aren't symptomatic and you request time to care for a dependant, then the Dependents and Carer's Policy may apply.

Read the Dependents and Carer's Policy (PDF) [244KB] .

It is recognised that there are an increasing number of situations where children are required to self-isolate at home as a result of public health advice. In some circumstances this self-isolation may affect a whole class or a wider group and this will impact on working parents who need to provide childcare during the period of self-isolation.

Parents whose children have been told to self-isolate are not required to isolate themselves (unless they or a member of their household tests positive or has symptoms), but it may be difficult to balance childcare with work, particularly where it is not possible to work from home. Current government guidance states that childcare must be provided by someone within the same household while the child is self-isolating. 

Parents in this situation who can work from home should continue to do so and may need to work more flexibly while children are at home. Guidelines on the options available are below and managers should discuss these options with employees so that appropriate arrangements can be made to allow working parents to balance their childcare and work commitments. 

We recognise that the situation may be more challenging for working parents who don't normally work from home or can't work from home due to the nature of their job. We're asking managers to be flexible and to explore what options the employee can do if they are unable to cover childcare responsibilities (remembering that if they are self-isolating this must be within the household). Managers should consider the following: 

• Can the employee work from home for the isolation or closure period? 
• Can they use annual leave to cover the period of absence? 
• Can they use flexi leave or TOIL to cover the period of absence? 
• Can they share childcare with a partner or other adults in their household? 
• Can you be flexible in start and finish times? 
• Can the employee do a specific piece of project work from home? 
• Can the employee work a reduced week? 

In exceptional circumstances, where childcare arrangements cannot be met, you should allow paid special leave, but only where all the options above have been considered. 

Options available include:

Temporary Flexible Working arrangements

An employee might alter the time they undertake their contracted hours by starting/finishing work earlier or starting/finishing later, working weekends etc. Consideration might need to be given to compressing working hours. Any requests for flexible working will need to be discussed and agreed with the manager and will be subject to operational constraints. This is a modification to the current Flexible Working Policy, however we would still ask managers to discuss any such flexible working requests with HR.

Using some Annual Leave

It is recognised that we are towards the end of the leave year and that the Christmas period, when we encourage employees to take leave, is still to come. Managers should consider the employees leave balance and the circumstances of the case to establish a reasonable approach.

Employees can request singular days or full weeks of leave to support childcare requirements. Managers should look on these requests as supportively as possible.

Using Flexi-Leave / TOIL

Employees who record their working hours through the flexi system or timesheets will be able to use accrued flexi / TOIL to take additional time off.  Employees will also be able to advance flexi / TOIL with prior agreement with their line manager. Due to the special circumstances of COVID-19, additional flexi days/TOIL can be requested in an accounting period. Any resulting negative flexi balance would be reviewed with your line manager on an ongoing basis with the aim to address by the end of the annual leave year.

Home Working

Where an employee can work from home, managers and employees may need to adopt a flexible approach to when working hours are undertaken. Working arrangements should be discussed and agreed between the manager and employee.

This could involve employees working out with the Council's core hours of 8am - 6pm, and splitting their contracted working hours over the course of the day or alternatively working at weekends. For example an employee could work at times when intensive childcare is not required or when other carers are available to take over childcare responsibilities, this could involve the employee working a few hours early in the morning, sometime during the normal working day and then working at night when children are in bed, etc. Employees should record the hours they work on the flexi system or timesheets.

It is acknowledged that in these circumstances children will be in the house when employees are working.

Recording of Hours

Employees on the flexi system should log in and out of the system as normal when they are working. Unfortunately the core hours on the flexi system (8am - 6pm) cannot be removed therefore the system will only count the time worked within the core hours. However at the end of their working week the employee should count up the time accrued out with the core hours and make a singular flexi adjustment for the week under "Miscellaneous Time Adjustment" rather than doing a flexi adjustment every day.

Employees on time sheets should record the hours they have worked and send these to their manager on a weekly basis for review.

This guidance is only applicable to situations where there is a requirement for a child to self-isolate during the pandemic and where it is essential that childcare is provided within the same household. In these specific circumstances, employees will not be expected to utilise any unpaid Carer's Leave.

If you're severely symptomatic and not fit to attend work / work from home, or you become unwell during a period of self-isolation, you need to report this to your manager.

Sickness absence due to Covid-19 will be recorded as Covid-19 leave and won't be subject to the maximising attendance procedures.

As more employees are working from home, it may be possible for e-learning to be carried out.

The information below will support you to log in to our e-learning portal.

Read e-learning guidance (PDF) [179KB] .

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, the risk to scams related to the pandemic is rising so it's important staff remain vigilant.

Read the Covid-19 phishing alert (PDF) [199KB] .

Read the Covid-19 remote support phishing example (PDF) [124KB] .

It's important that we continue to work securely and in line with our security policy while working from home during the pandemic.

Review the documents below for information on how to work securely during this time:

• Read working securely from home (PDF) [156KB] .
• Read how to use web conferencing (PDF) [180KB] .
• Read how to use Zoom securely (PDF) [224KB] .
• Read how to use WhatsApp (PDF) [115KB] .

It's important that your home wifi network is protected to ensure the security of our information and systems you may be accessing.

Read the top 10 tips to protect you home WiFi (PDF) [103KB] .

We appreciate that employees may be anxious or worried about their own health or that of a relative at this time. Please speak to your manager about any additional support you may require. 

PAM Assist continue to promote the employee counselling services. In addition we are also exploring opportunities to promote financial security with employees through financial management.

Counselling covers a range of issues including stress (personal and work related), critical incident debriefing, debt, gambling, substance misuse and bereavement. 

It can be arranged 24 hours per day 7 day per week by phoning the free help line on telephone number 0800 882 4102 or by email counsellingteam@pamassist.co.uk.

You can also visit the PAM Assist website.

The Username is 'ERC' and the password is 'ERC1' for all East Renfrewshire employees.

Read the employee return to work procedures (PDF) [259KB] .

Please be mindful of the information and advice in corporate policies such as the social media policy.

Updates will also be available in the event of closures using our Text Messaging Emergency Notification System.

Any media requests for comments or information should be referred to Corporate Communications.

Service desk

As more of us are working from home, below is a list of ICT Service Desk services that will be available for home workers. These are our most common requests, which will remain available as long as the platforms supporting these services remain fully operational.

During this period, staff can still contact the service desk by dialling 3131. However, this has been diverted to a mobile number, so there will be no queuing facility available. Where possible, staff should use the Service Desk portal to log calls.

ICT support available to home workers

More information 

•   Read how to sign into Office 365 on your personal PC (PDF) [452KB] .
•   Read signing into Office 365 (PDF) [383KB] .
•   Read Skype conference calls (PDF) [403KB] .
•   Read Teams conference calls (PDF) [264KB]

Given the current situation, for emergency or very urgent purchases which can't be made using our usual suppliers it may be appropriate to consider an ePay (virtual) card. 

The Chief Executive's Business Unit are responsible for this area of work. 

Requests made at this time will be subject to review at a later date to ensure that all usual procedures were followed and the ePay card request was appropriate. 

You must document the reason for requesting an ePay card clearly on the request form and state the reason why you are unable to add the supplier to our list or use an existing supplier already on Integra. 

All request forms (available on the intranet and which must be authorised by an authorised signatory before sending to the team or your request will be rejected) should be emailed to ceobusinessunit@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk.

Download e-pay form (Word doc) [52KB] .

More information

ePay cards will only be issued for use of emergency purchases, for a transaction of £10 or above, where the supplier won't accept an official purchase order and/or where there is no alternate supplier on the system that can provide required goods/services. 

It should be noted that an ePay card will not be issued for items that are on contract and that can be found cheaper elsewhere such as Amazon. 

If requesting an ePay card to purchase goods from Amazon, details of the supplier must be provided or your request will be rejected.

Under no circumstances should funds be transferred from an ePay card to a personal account.

External links to:

• What is Microsoft Teams?
• Intro to Microsoft Teams
• Collaborate in teams and channels
• Work with posts and messages
• Upload and find files
• Start chats and calls
• Manage meetings
• Manage your activity feed
• Working in channels
• Mastering working from home 

External links:

• UK Government latest advice and information
• NHS UK website
• Health Protection Scotland guidance
• World Health Organisation - question and answer
• NHS Inform Scotland
• FitforTravel 
• UK Government self isolation guide

NHS 24 can be called on 111 

NHS Scotland have a helpline, for those without symptoms. It can be called on 0800 028 2816.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Protection team:

Office Hours - 0141 201 4917

Out of Hours - 0141 211 3600