Updated terms and conditions of Covid-19 related sickness: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for a copy of the document titled 'Coronavirus (Covid-19) Impact on Terms and Conditions of Employment for Scottish Government Sector Version – 29 March 2021'

Response

The Covid Fair Work Statement regarding the transition out of lockdown provides a set of principles which have been agreed with the STUC and other key partners, which employers are encouraged to follow. It was last substantively updated in July 2020 prior to a clinical decision on ‘long covid’ / post Covid syndrome being available in December 2020. Similarly at the outset of the pandemic, at the Scottish Government, we created a protocol in conjunction with the Scottish Government civil service trade unions to set out how specific terms of employment will exceptionally be impacted during the period of the outbreak. The protocol is titled 'Coronavirus (Covid-19) Impact on Terms and Conditions of Employment for Scottish Government Sector Version'. That protocol is expected to be followed by the “Scottish Government Sector” which is made up of bodies that make up the devolved administration and are covered by the terms of Scottish Ministers pay policy (Public sector pay policy 2021 to 2022 (revised) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)) and is intended to be applied by them in full. For bodies beyond the Scottish Government sector, the protocol is only provided on an advisory and good practice basis.

We amended the Trade Union protocol earlier this year to recognise the emergence of long covid as a long-term condition, and agreed with our civil service sector unions that it should therefore be treated the same as other long-term absences (and so avoid risk of disability discrimination from staff with other long-term conditions who do not have a ‘no detriment’ approach applied to them). A copy of this document (version 29 March 2021) is attached.

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FOI202100246229 - Information released

File type

21 page PDF

File size

261.9 kB