COVID 19 - Staff FAQ

Be vigilant, act responsibly and follow the advice of our many leaders which includes practicing:

Good hygiene:

• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water (for at least 20 seconds)
• Use hand sanitiser
• When you cough or sneeze cover your mouth with a tissue (or the inside of your elbow), dispose of the tissue immediately and wash your hands.

 

Practice physical/social distancing:

• 5meteres away from other people
• No more than 15mins in a meeting room at a time
• Stay home.

If you are feeling unwell or begin to experience symptoms you are required to seek IMMEDIATE medical attention and do not come into the office. If you are at work and begin to feel unwell, please contact your Manager or Coronavirus Site Officer immediately! Symptoms can include a fever or shortness of breath or a cough/respiratory illness.

Please contact your manager before coming to work so we can make a joint decision regarding your current circumstances and work arrangements.

If you think you may have been in close contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus you MUST self-isolate for 14-days.

We are confident that Windermere will be viewed as an ‘essential service’ and continue to operate – possibly with minor changes. We continue to monitor the situation and respond to the advice from government and relevant authorities, and make decisions on these should anything change.

All staff will continue to receive updates and regular communications around the ever evolving situation.

Yes. We have been contacting consumers, Family Day Care educators and service partners, providing them with regular up to date information on changes to their services and relevant hints, tips and resources to help them. We have also created a web page which is updated with general information on our response here.

We have acted early to provide staff an opportunity to receive the flu vaccination should they chose to do so. We will take advice from the state or national Chief Medical Officer in relation to whether a follow up flu shot is required and will act accordingly.

Your Manager/Team Leader will be communicating with you regularly and often either via phone, face time or via Zoom. Weekly work plans will be developed to support you and you will also be provided with tip sheets.

We reviewed the decision earlier this month and noted that the arrangement will be in place until July 19. We will contiue to monitor the advice from the government and health authorities and continue to review on a regular basis in this way.

Yes, you will still be able to get your flu shot as scheduled, but are not permitted to enter the building for any other reason. Follow strictly the instructions from HR.

No, unfortunately coming inside the office would compromise our containment strategies. You can arrange to have it printed through somebody in the office and left in a box at the rear door for your pick up but you cannot enter the building. Contact reception to organise this using the “email receptions” email list.

Whilst the Windermere sites are closed, these will be completed weekly.

We aim to be as flexible as possible to assist you to be able to meet your Windermere responsibilities and provide your children with the support they need during this period. We recognise that circumstances may vary based on a number of factors, including the age of your child(ren), your role and the support system available within your own home. We encourage you to discuss your circumstances with your manager and consider solutions such as varying your hours of work while also meeting the needs of your consumers or those who rely on you, taking periods of annual/unpaid leave or reducing your hours of work for the coming term. Click here for some hints and tips to help you with homeschooling.

We have ordered keyboard wipes and the cleaners are doing nightly cleans all desks, keyboards and mouses. We have thinned out the number of staff in the office to eliminate desk sharing.

No. We have created specific zones for containment purposes. You are not permitted to pass through or go into another site to reinforce effectiveness of containment zoning.

No. Absolutely no deliveries are to be directed to the office during this time. This includes food, Ubereats, home shopping etc.

There is to be strictly no sharing of food platters until further notice. Whilst you can still host a get together, ask fellow staff to bring in their own morning tea and ensure you adhere to the physical distancing rules (1.5 metres apart and in a confined space for no more than 15 minutes). We encourage virtual morning teas via Zoom.

Your Manager will discuss your situation with you and assess your ability to work from home whilst being the primary carer of your child(ren). If your Manager approves your request you will be paid for each hour worked up to your agreed hours.
Any hours not able to be worked up to the agreed hours may be taken as Unpaid Pandemic Leave/ Leave Without Pay or any accrued Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have.

As it is an emergency or an un/planned event you can access Carer’s Leave (Personal Leave) if you have Carer’s Leave (Personal Leave) accrued as per Windermere Policy.

If you do not have Carer’s Leave (Personal Leave) accrued you may take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have.

Your Manager will discuss your situation with you and assess your ability to work from home whilst being the primary carer of your child(ren). If your Manager approves your request you will be paid for each hour worked up to your agreed hours.

Any hours not able to be worked up to the agreed hours may be taken as Unpaid Pandemic Leave/ Leave Without Pay or any accrued Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have.

As it is an emergency or an un/planned event you can access Carer’s Leave (Personal Leave) if you have Carer’s Leave (Personal Leave) accrued as per Windermere Policy.
If you do not have Carer’s Leave (Personal Leave) accrued you may take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have.

Your Manager will discuss your situation with you and assess your ability to work from home whilst being the primary carer of your child(ren).  If your Manager approves your request you will be paid for each hour worked up to your agreed hours.

Any hours not able to be worked up to the agreed hours may be taken as Unpaid Pandemic Leave/ Leave Without Pay or any accrued Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have.

Whilst engaged in work activities you have a legal responsibility to protect the health and safety all colleagues, consumers and other members of the public so you should not be coming in to work unwell in any form and especially if displaying symptoms of COVID-19.

 If you present to work at a Windermere site unwell but with no COVID-19 symptoms you will be directed to leave the premises and not return until you have a medical clearance stating that you are fit for work. You will be paid for the day that you presented to work and after which you may take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have until a medical clearance is received.

If you present to work at a Windermere site with what may be symptoms of COVID-19, you will be immediately stood down and requested to leave the building. You will need to obtain a medical clearance before returning to any work site and must report the results of any COVID-19 testing to Windermere immediately so that contact tracing and appropriate cleaning of premises can commence. You will be paid for the day that you presented to work and after which you may take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have until a medical clearance is received.

You may also be subject to disciplinary action upon your return to work, due to your failure to comply with Windermere’s policies/directives regarding not attending work when unwell and with what may be symptoms of COVID-19.

You will be asked to go home so that the area where that person has been can be cleaned and you are to return to work the following day (or when you have been notified that the cleaning has been done and is safe to return). You will be paid for any time that you have been asked to remain away from the Windermere workplace.

If you self-select to self-isolate you will need to take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have.

Windermere will determine through contact tracing if you have been in close contact with the infected staff member.

If you are deemed to have been in close contact with the affected person whilst at work then you will be directed to go into a period of 14 days self-isolation as legally mandated. You will be paid for this period at your agreed hours. If during this 14 day period you are diagnosed with COVID-19 then you will access to your Personal Leave.

If you do not have any Personal Leave accrued you may take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have.

You may also choose to make a claim for workcover (each case will be considered on its merits, with regards to the individual circumstances and evidence).

You will need to take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Personal Leave, Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have until you recover fully and are medically cleared as no longer being infectious.

You will need to determine if you meet the health criteria for ‘close contact’ and follow the legal requirement to self-isolate.

If you are not showing symptoms of COVID-19 and you are able to perform your role you will be paid for the hours that you work up to your agreed hours.

If you are not showing symptoms of COVID-19 and you are not able to perform your role during this isolation period due to carer requirements you will need to take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Personal Leave, Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have.

If you develop symptoms and test positive for COVID-19 you will need to take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Personal Leave, Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have until you recover fully and are medically cleared as no longer being infectious.

If you have tested positive to COVID-19 but have mild symptoms and can still work from home, for your health and safety, we ask that you obtain a medical certificate/clearance stating that you are fit to be working and with this you will be able to continue to work. If not you will need to take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Personal Leave, Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have until you recover fully and are medically cleared as no longer being infectious.

If you are showing symptoms of COVID-19 but have not yet been diagnosed and you are able to perform your role from home (without compromising your health and safety), you will be paid for the hours that you work up to your agreed hours.

If you are not able to perform your role (or part of your role) as you are unwell or you have tested positive for COVID-19 during this isolation period you will need to take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Personal Leave, Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have until you recover fully and are medically cleared as no longer being infectious.

COVID-19 has necessitated major changes to the way that Windermere delivers services to its consumers and the community as a whole. There may be some roles that are not able to be done temporarily due to external factors beyond Windermere’s control. For example: the temporary closure of schools, closure of operational sites by funders, Government directives. Changes in the way that we are able to safely deliver services during this time may also impact on being able to fully undertake all of the duties of the role.

If part or all of your role can no longer be done we will consult with you to assess how much of the role can be undertaken.

If some of your role is able to be undertaken you will be paid for the hours of your role that can be (and has been) worked and you may take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have for the balance of your agreed hours that cannot be worked or consider options available such as JobSeeker.

If part or all of your role can no longer be done we will consult with you to assess how much of the role can be undertaken.

If none of the role can be undertaken Windermere will review any vacant positions and assess if you have the skills to undertake the role and if so, offer you this role temporarily. If there are no suitable vacant positions Windermere will need to stand you down temporarily until your role is again required. You may take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have. If you have none of these leave types accrued you may during this stand down period consider options available such as JobSeeker.

You may take Unpaid Pandemic Leave/Leave Without Pay or any accrued Annual Leave or Long Service Leave that you may have. If you have none of these leave types accrued you may during this stand down period consider options available such as JobSeeker.

In early April, the Fair Work Commission made a determination of special leave during the COVID-19. 

You can access up to 2 weeks’ Unpaid Pandemic Leave if you are prevented from working:

• as a result of being required to self-isolate by government or medical authorities, or acting on the advice of a medical practitioner, or
• by measures taken by government or medical authorities in response to the pandemic (for example, an enforceable government direction restricting non-essential businesses).

The leave is available in full immediately to full-time, part-time and casual employees – you don’t have to accrue it.

You don’t have to use all your paid leave before accessing Unpaid Pandemic Leave.

The leave needs to start before 29 March 2021, but can finish after that date.

The two weeks leave (10 days) is not pro-rated for employees who don't work full-time.

We recognise for some people, you may have limited leave and that this will cause you some concerns. To help all employees where possible during this period of COVID-19 should you wish to take your available Personal Leave or Annual Leave at a 50% rate (ie: meaning that you would be paid at half rate) then this is something for you to consider and discuss with your Manager.

Should you not have sufficient accrued Personal/Carers Leave Windermere is also open to providing a one week (pro-rata) advancement to all employees requiring such leave as a direct result of COVID-19. If this is something you would like to access please discuss with your Manager.

The Australian Government introduced the JobKeeper payment to help keep more Australians in jobs and support businesses affected by the significant economic impact caused by the COVID-19, and to support eligible employers to remain connected to their workforce and help businesses restart quickly when the crisis is over.

The JobKeeper scheme is a reimbursement scheme to eligible employers based on the number of eligible employees that they pay on a fortnightly basis.   

The JobKeeper payment is a payment made to eligible employers to subsidise their salary costs, support the people they employ and help them in retaining employees. Eligible employers that elect to participate will receive a payment of $1,500 per JobKeeper fortnight per eligible employee who remain employed at the time of application across each JobKeeper fortnight.

With Windermere identified as an eligible employer the next step is for us/you to all individually identify as eligible employee’s through the completion of a ‘JobKeeper Employee Nomination Notice’ form (Nomination Form).  This is required so that Government knows what funding is to be allocated to Windermere on a fortnightly basis ie: $1500 per eligible employee

You are not eligible for JobKeeper if you:

• are receiving Parental Leave Pay from the Federal Government (note: you will not be eligible for the period during which you are receiving Parental Leave Pay, but may become eligible if that payment stops);
• are receiving Dad & Partner Pay (note: you will not be eligible for the period during which you are receiving Dad & Partner Pay, but may become eligible if that payment stops);
• are in receipt of a JobKeeper payment as a sole trader or another employer or eligible business is in receipt of a JobKeeper payment for you; or
• are fully incapacitated for work throughout the payment fortnight and receiving workers compensation payments for a period that overlaps with the payment fortnight.

 

JobKeeper is a wage subsidy that is designed to ensure that eligible employees receive at least $1,500 (before tax) per fortnight.

This means:

• if your pay from Windermere is more than $1,500 (before tax) in a JobKeeper fortnight, you will receive your regular pay according to your prevailing workplace arrangements. The JobKeeper payment will not be added on top of this but is provided to Windermere to help subsidise your pay; or
• if your pay from Windermere is below $1,500 (before tax) for a JobKeeper fortnight (whether this is because you are stood down or because your pay is below $1,500 for the fortnight), the JobKeeper payment will be applied to ‘top up’ your pay to $1,500 (before tax).

The same rules apply whether you are working, you are stood down or you are on paid or unpaid leave. All payments are treated as income, and tax will be withheld as required

No, the $1,500 amount is a flat amount and is not pro-rated.

Whilst there is no superannuation guarantee contributions legally required to be paid on any additional payment made because of JobKeeper, Windermere has chosen to pay superannuation on the full salary you receive.

Yes, where Windermere have an existing agreement and the employee agrees for this to continue.

The JobKeeper payment is treated as ordinary income for the purposes of social security payments. It is your responsibility to report your change in circumstances to Services Australia if you are receiving Services Australia payments. You may also need to cancel your JobSeeker payment. If you do not report the income or cancel your JobSeeker payment, you may incur a debt to the Australian Government that you will be required to pay back. More information is available from Services Australia.  

Yes, if you meet the Eligibility Criteria.  

You are able to take your accrued paid leave. The JobKeeper payment will not be paid ‘on top’ of your leave payments if your leave payments are more than $1,500 (before tax) per JobKeeper fortnight. You may wish to take leave in some pay periods and rely on the JobKeeper payment only in other pay periods.  

Yes. You will continue to accrue leave entitlements as usual regardless if part or all of your wages are subsidised by the JobKeeper payment.   

No, you are eligible for JobKeeper at one workplace only. This means you can only nominate one place of employment to claim JobKeeper for you. Should you claim JobKeeper at one workplace and then subsequently cease employment at that workplace, you can then apply and nominate the other workplace to claim JobKeeper on your behalf.

Yes, the 12 month eligibility test only applies to casuals you would definitely be eligible.

To qualify as an organisation Windermere has had to demonstrate a significant fall in our overall income (greater than 15%) which as a long term proposition will have a significant impact on our viability and range of services we are able to sustain.  

While it might feel that you will not benefit personally, Windermere as a whole will. As will our consumers who rely on us for critical support and services. It will also directly impact our financial ability to exit out of COVID-19 together.

To support Windermere in the JobKeeper Scheme, we need everybody to submit a Nomination Form agreeing for Windermere to formally nominate you to participate in the scheme by COB Monday 27 April 2020. 

If you earn less than $1500 per fortnight (before tax) by submitting your Nomination Form by COB Monday 27 April you will receive the JobKeeper base pay of $1500 (before tax) in the next pay cycle. If you do not submit a Nomination Form by 27 April 2020, you will not be eligible for JobKeeper base pay until the JobKeeper fortnight following the date that you do submit the Nomination Form

Yes. If your pay is greater than $1500 per fortnight, it is still critical that you complete the form by COB Monday 27 April to enable us to access the subsidy and ensure our financial viability across this COVID-19 pandemic. 

An email will be sent to you before the end of the week, so please check your emails. The email will come from Human Resources and we will be asking your supervisor to follow this through with you to provide assistance or you can email COVID-19@windermere.org.au with any questions.

1. The email will include the Nomination Form and instructions on how to complete and submit it. 
    
2. You will be required to confirm that you meet the Eligibility Criteria and confirm whether you agree to Windermere nominating you for the purposes of the JobKeeper scheme. You will do this by selecting “Yes” or “No”. 
    
3. You will need to sign the form - you can digitally sign the form by using your finger on a mobile device, the trackpad/mouse on laptops and desktops, or system generated digital signature by typing your name. 
    

Once completed, you will need to submit the Nomination Form (using the instructions provided).

This is will only occur where there is a lack of demand for your role and when there is no work at all for you to do based on your skills and for which Windermere can not be held directly responsible for. Employees that are stood down remain employed during the period of the stand down.

Yes, if you are eligible.

No. If you have not been stood down, this is because there is useful work for you.

No. If you have been stood down, it is because there is no useful work for you to perform.