26 September 2023

New rules for staff changes in pandemic

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The Australian Public Service Commission has issued a new Circular dealing with staffing mobility arrangements in response to COVID-19.

Circular 2020/6: Temporary mobility arrangements as part of the continued response to COVID-19 reflects a significant shift in operations.

“The focus of Agencies and employees should be on the continued delivery of critical functions to the Australian public, as well as ensuring workplaces are safe for all employees,” the Circular says.

“The APS Commissioner established the APS Workforce Management Taskforce to manage the mobility of the APS workforce across all APS departments and agencies.

“Agencies are required to continue to monitor and evaluate their requirements on a regular basis as the COVID-19 response evolves.”

The Circular covers a series of questions dealing with the various work options available to APS members.

First, can the employee perform their regular or normal work? If so, it should be facilitated where possible, either in the workplace or from home.

Second, can the employee perform other tasks or work within the agency or another agency? If so, the employee should be made available for temporary movement.

Third, is the employee currently limited in their ability to perform work? If so, learning and development opportunities should be considered.

Where regular work is not possible and employees are building skills while awaiting temporary mobility opportunities, they are to be placed on paid standby, the Circular says.

“Where an employee chooses not to be available for work or temporary mobility opportunities, or declines work or a temporary mobility opportunity, they are not eligible for paid stand-by and will need to access an approved leave type,” it says

The APSC Circular 2020/6 can be accessed at this PS News link.

It supersedes Circular 2020/3: COVID-19 – Remote working and evolving work arrangements in response to the gradual relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions.

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