If you are showing signs of a possible infection:
If you show signs of any of the following symptoms you must stay home and call 111 for guidance:
- A high temperature
- A new, continuous cough
- A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
If you start to show any of the above symptoms while you are working you must tell your line manager immediately. You will be asked to leave the premises. Go straight home and contact 111 for guidance.
If symptoms persist or worsen, you must get a test for COVID-19. If positive, you must inform us immediately and then self-isolate for seven days. You must not attend work, doing so would be in breach of our health and safety guidelines and could result in disciplinary action being taken.
If anyone in your household either presents symptoms or receives a positive COVID-19 result you must self-isolate for fourteen days and not attend work. Doing so would be in breach of our health and safety guidelines and could result in disciplinary action being taken.
Flexible furlough scheme
The flexible furlough scheme was created by the government to give businesses more flexibility over who can be furloughed, who can work and when. Currently this scheme runs until the end of October 2020.
Furlough is a period of leave where an employer is in essence saying “your role is still needed, but we have no work for you right now” and was brought in when the coronavirus crisis really took hold.
The furlough scheme has been incredibly helpful to Eureka! during the closure period, and will remain important to us through to its end in October. It enables us to bring staff back in a phased approach, with some returning part time to begin with, and others remaining on furlough for a few additional months.
Whilst you remain on furlough, you must not do any work for Eureka!, however, now the system has become more flexible, we may ask you to attend re-induction or training activities whilst still on furlough.
All of our Eureka! colleagues are highly valued members of the team. If you are not back at Eureka! immediately, it does not mean you are any less valuable than other staff who have already returned. This will be discussed and explained to you fully in your conversations with your line managers.
Getting back to work
When we need you to come back to work, we will confirm this to you in a few ways. Firstly, it will be a phone or video call where we will discuss your individual circumstances with you and discuss your feedback on when you will be able to work.
Once we then have this detail we will confirm the arrangement in writing. We will review all arrangements as time progresses, so don’t be too surprised if things aren’t exactly the same week to week.
Annual leave & salary
Eureka! is committed to ensuring that all staff utilise their annual leave entitlement. This is for the benefit of both staff well-being and organisational effectiveness.
Throughout the closure period annual leave has built up for all employees. While we like to be as flexible as possible to allow staff to take their leave at a time that suits them, we also need to ensure that holidays are taken at a time to suit business requirements. We are in the midst of an extraordinary and unpredictable time at Eureka! and this is why we asked you to take leave within certain timeframes. This is to be discussed in detail with your line manager. We will be monitoring the amount of leave outstanding and could ask you to take more as the year progresses.
All annual leave (whether you are furloughed or not) will be paid at 100%
When you’re working you will be paid 100% of your usual pay rate. If you’re furloughed you will be paid at 80% of either your monthly average in the tax year 2019-2020 OR the equivalent of the same month last year – whichever is the higher. Please note that the government furlough scheme ends on 31st October and we will be providing an update in advance of that.
Feeling concerned/anxious
It’s a strange and new time for all of us, any feelings of worry or anxiety are perfectly normal at a time of change. But, if these feelings become overwhelming or all-consuming this is when you may feel like you need to reach out for help.
Although both our HR Manager and your line manager are willing to listen if you need to talk, they’re not trained mental health professionals.
We have our own Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) with AXA. The staff there are trained counsellors who are able to help you with your anxieties and can help you develop coping mechanisms to deal with these feelings. You can self-refer to the AXA programme, it’s completely free, and you do not need permission or referral from your line manager.
There isn’t just the AXA programme out there to help you, you can see your GP if you need to, they will be able to help you access other programmes for your mental health. There are links to additional sources of help on our website.
