No requirement for employers to pay quarantined workers

Employers are under no legal obligation to provide additional sick days or work-from-home arrangements to workers in mandatory quarantine, government officials have confirmed.

With thousands of people forced into isolation in some cases for several weeks – amid a community COVID outbreak, many employees have exhausted their statutory sick days.

While some businesses have been able to offer home working options, that is not practical in many professions.

The ability to provide additional sick days to cover the unexpected absences is also not an option for some companies, particularly small businesses struggling to stay open without key workers.

Speaking at a Chamber of Commerce information seminar, Japhia Loval Linwood, of the Department of Labour and Pensions, said there is nothing in the Labour Law that addresses the current situation.

She said there was no legal basis to ask employers to allow flexible working arrangements or to grant additional sick days.

She stressed however that the law covers the minimum requirements and that many employers can and are doing more for those impacted by long quarantine-related absences.

“There is a lot of negotiation that has to take place between employer and employee,” she said.

Despite general concern around the issue, she said there had been very few specific complaints to the Department of Labour and Pensions.

Wesley Howell, Chief Officer in the Ministry of Border Control and Labour,  noted that there had been cases when people exceeded their paid sick days because of mandatory quarantine, citing one incident where a mother had been forced to isolate on two separate occasions after outbreaks at her children’s school.

He said government had set up a fund to support Caymanians and permanent residents who lost income because of the requirement.

“They can apply for the ex-gratia stipend which covers days they are not being paid by their employer,” he said, though he acknowledged the rate of $69-a-day may not replace salary in many cases.

Another option – which is open to negotiation between employer and employee – is for vacation days to be taken. Linwood said it was feasible to offer advanced vacation days for next year as an option.

Again, she said this is not governed by the law.

“There is a lot of communication that has to take place between employer and employee,” she said.

Both Howell and Linwood suggested it was, in their view, feasible for employers to introduce vaccine mandates, especially for new hires.

Howell said some business have done so – though most offer a regular testing alternative and all have exceptions for those who cannot be immunised for health reasons.

However, the officials urged businesses to tread carefully, particularly when considering dismissing someone for refusing to be vaccinated.

Howell said there were no clear answers to many of the questions.

“This is not clearly defined in the legislation and we haven’t had the test cases come through the courts.

“Employers and employees are on the cutting edge of what is happening in terms of labour relations,” he said.

Wil Pineau, CEO of the Chamber, said the session had been arranged because of the large interest from the business community in the issue. He said employers wanted to do the right thing and were seeking clarity over the law.

“With the pandemic there is a lot of grey areas and how you apply sick leave as well as vacation leave is an important question for employers. I think the big take away was that there has to be communication between the parties.”