Dear Colleagues
Just a quick follow-up to ensure that we are all doing everything we can do protect ourselves and our loved-ones.
Are you working safely?
As per our previous email every employer should be following government advice about protecting their employees.
We would expect all departments within BA to be doing this.
Unless there is a good reason for you not to do so, you should be working from home
This is particularly true for potentially vulnerable people, for example pregnant women, diabetics etc.
If WFH is not possible for everyone then the other measures could include:
- Rotation of staff (some staff are in on some days and WFH on others);
- Splitting departments between locations;
- Social distancing ie sitting further apart from colleagues.
Doing nothing is not an option.
If you have any concerns please raise these with your manager.
If this does not resolve the situation – or if you are worried about raising these – please let us know.
Childcare
We know that many of our members are juggling home and work responsibilities.
The news that schools are closing will add to this burden – especially as many people would normally count on grandparents to help out.
We expect BA to send out guidance to managers shortly.
Unless you are on an ‘OCG’ contract our expectation is that this will be dealt with under the EG406 ‘Time off for dependents’ policy as school closure is unexpected.
Under the policy you can request up to 5 days.
However you will need to confirm that you have tried all other reasonable childcare measures.
It may also be a good idea to discuss other options, eg part-time working.
We are also hoping that managers will operate working from home arrangements on a pragmatic basis.
This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.
We will continue to update you as soon as we know. We ask you please to keep reading the updates to keep yourself informed on the ever chamging situation.
Yours in solidarity