Coronavirus updates for PSS staff
Staff update, Monday 23 March 2020: using school hubs, drivers wanted and financial support available
Only use school hubs if you really need to
The great news is that as providers of social care, our children can go along to school hubs. This is because the important work we all do has been recognised by the Government as essential. This is going to be a great help to those of you who can’t work from home and who don’t have alternative childcare arrangements.
What we don’t want to do is put any unnecessary pressure on school hubs. Children in schools are currently not being taught lessons as usual – schools are just offering childcare, like a child-minding service. This means that our children aren’t missing any vital teaching by not going to school.
If you can’t work from home and need childcare, but don’t feel comfortable with your children going to school, please know that you can take unpaid leave if you need to. Have a chat to your manager.
If you have family circumstances that may be especially difficult, for example, if your children have an EHCP or you’re caring for someone at home who can’t access their usual care and support, let your manager know and we’ll see what we can do to help.
If you get ill with COVID-19
Just a few reminders about what happens if you’re off ill with COVID-19:
- You can now self-certify for 14 days if you have symptoms of COVID-19. That means you can be off with symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days without a doctor’s note. If you’re off work with an illness that isn’t COVID-19 symptoms, you can be off without a doctor’s note for 7 days as usual.
- Our Occupational Sick Pay Policy will cover you if you fall ill with COVID-19. This includes people who are in their probationary period with us.
- If you’re off with COVID-19, it won’t trigger our attendance management policy.
Drivers wanted in central services
Do you work in our finance, business development and innovation, learning and development, people and culture or quality team? Do you have a car? Would you be willing to give lifts to people in our operational services who need to get to work?
If you would like to help, please drop a line to virusinfo@pss.org.uk with ‘Driver’ in the title of your email.
Financial support for PSS people from Salary Finance
Salary Finance is our employee benefit that can help reduce financial stress, which may be helpful for some of you during these uncertain times. Their loans are typically more inclusive and competitive than traditional lenders, especially when it comes to debt consolidation or finding yourself in a financial emergency.
By linking repayments to your salary, they’re able to significantly reduces their costs, which means they pass the savings straight to customers, offering highly competitive interest rates. For loans under £5,000, they offer a price promise which means if you get it at a better rate, they’ll match it.
Find out more at psspeople.salaryfinance.com
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Staff update, Friday 20 March 2020: our children can go to school next week
The Government has announced a list of people whose children will still be able to go to school when the schools close. The list is of ‘key workers’ – people who do really important jobs and who are needed most right now as we battle the COVID-19 outbreak.
All of us at PSS are on that list as people who support and deliver social care.
This is going to be such a huge help for so many of you who we know care so much about continuing to provide a service to the people we support at such a difficult time.
At this point the Government have been unclear about whether you’re still able to send your child to school if you have a partner able to take care of the children who doesn’t work in a job that’s on the list of key workers. Those of you who are single parents definitely will be able to send your child to school as usual next week.
Also included are parents of children who are ‘supported by social care, those with safeguarding and welfare needs, including child in need plans, on child protection plans, ‘looked after’ children, young carers, disabled children and those with education, health and care (EHC) plans.’
Here’s the full list of key workers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision
We’ll update you on this page as soon as we know any more.
Until then, thank you so much for your continued determination
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