DOWNLOAD UPDATES:
____________________________________________________________________________________
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Community Update for the Residents Of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation
COVID-19: Addressing your child-care concerns
We know in this rapidly changing situation you may have questions about what you can do to balance family and work obligations. We also know you may need some extra support to do so. To help you manage these challenges, we have worked hard to address questions you may have. Please feel free to contact your direct manager if you have any questions that we have not yet answered.
Do I still report for work if I have been affected by the provincial school and daycare closures?
Yes, every effort should be made to attend your regularly scheduled shifts. We understand that some special consideration will be required for the following situations:
- a) You have a child or children under the age of 12 who you are legally responsible for. All we require is copy of your Manitoba Health Card or your child’s birth certificate. We do not need original copies. Scanned copies will do.
- b) You have a child or children over the age of 12 with special needs who requires someone to be home with them. All we require is copy of your Manitoba Health Card or your child’s birth certificate. We do not need original copies. Scanned copies will do.
Please make every reasonable effort to find other care for your child or children. This includes but is not limited to the following: i) Trying to switch shifts with coworkers and contacting your shift scheduler to see if there is any ability to change your current schedule. ii) Asking family, friends and coworkers to provide care. iii) Trying to make arrangements with your spouse or other legal guardian of the child or children to coordinate schedules. This would include your spouse or other legal guardian contacting their employer to change their schedule. *Important to know: If you need to change your shift schedule due to child care issues as a result of COVID-19, you need to submit the Provincial Family Status Accommodation Form available here or on all employer intranet sites.
I am a front-line healthcare provider in need of childcare. What options do I have?
See above question. Planning is underway to ensure parents who provide essential services, such as front-line health-care providers, will have a way to continue to access child-care options. Families who meet this criteria and cannot make other arrangements should contact 204-945-0776, 1-888-213-4754 (toll-free) or [email protected] as soon as possible to help support the development of this service.
What happens if I can’t find other child care arrangements and need to stay at home with my child or children?
If you need to stay home because you are unable to find child care, you can use your vacation, overtime or statutory banks to supplement lost income. Once those banks have been exhausted, you would be placed on an unpaid leave of absence. The use of sick time is not available for the purpose of staying home for child care reasons.
Is working from home an option?
Yes. At the discretion of your Employer, you may have the ability to work from home due to child care constraints provided you currently have a company issued laptop with VPN access or have made accommodations to take your desktop computer home. If you work from home, your hours will be coded as if you are physically reporting to your regular workplace. Please note that while you work from home on a company issued laptop, you are responsible for: • Managing current workload and meeting expected deadlines • Maintaining confidentiality of all your documents • Logging off when you are not using your computer
If you have been approved to work from home with a personal laptop that has been provided VPN access, you are responsible for maintaining confidentiality of all your documents and logging off when you are not using your computer.
If you are working from home, you are required to adhere to all PHIA and FIPPA guidelines as well as any applicable employer policies. Please refer to your employer’s intranet website for these policies.
What if I am not able to come to work and can’t work from home?
If you are unable to come to work for all or part of your regularly scheduled hours and do not have the ability to work from home, you can supplement your income with any of your vacation, general holiday or overtime banks. The use of sick time is not available for the purpose of staying home for child care reasons. If you do not have accumulated hours in these banks, your time away will be considered as unpaid and you will be placed on an unpaid leave of absence.
What if I have a sick child or children?
If you are required to stay home because of a sick child or children, you are entitled to be paid family sick/ income protection time according to your collective agreement or employer policies. If income protection is not available, you can use your vacation, overtime or statutory banks. If you do not have banked time available, you will be placed on an unpaid leave of absence and a Record of Employment will be issued.
What if my unpaid leave of absence lasts longer than 14 days?
If your unpaid leave of absence continues for longer than 14 days, you may choose to pre-pay your existing benefits for coverage. We strongly recommend that you contact your human resources department, Service Desk or your Employer Benefits Coordinator to discuss.
You can also contact your benefits provider (HEB, Blue Cross, etc.) using the following links:
- Manitoba Blue Cross https://www.mb.bluecross.ca/
- HEB Manitoba https://hebmanitoba.ca/
REQUEST FOR FAMILY STATUS ACCOMMODATION DUE TO SCHOOL AND/OR DAYCARE CLOSURES
The parties recognize that the Manitoba Human Rights Code establishes a reasonable accommodation requirement to the point of undue hardship, in order to accommodate the special needs of any person or group where those needs are based on the protected characteristics as set out in the Manitoba Human Rights Code.
Staff who are requesting time off to accommodate child care needs due to school and/or daycare closures MUST fill out this form.
First Name: ___________________________ Last Name: ________________________ Employee ID#: _________________________ Classification :________________________ Site: _______________________________ Department: ________________________
Dates of Accommodation being requested: _____________________________________
Note: For leaves over 14 days employees need to follow the leave of absence process. For unpaid leaves of absence, employees may be responsible to pre-pay the employee and employer portions of the benefit premium in order to maintain uninterrupted coverage. For personal leaves, benefits should be arranged as far in advance of the leave as possible
| Child’s Name Requesting Care | Child’s Date of Birth
(DD/MM/YYYY) |
Special Circumstances or Care needs of Child (If child is over 12 years of age) |
Note: Proof of age must be provided (copy of Manitoba Health Card, Birth Certificate is acceptable) with the form.
Reason for Request:
___ School Closure
___ Day care closure
___ Other (please explain):
Requests for accommodation should be made when all other reasonable efforts on the part of the employee to find alternate care for your child/children have occurred.
Declaration:
By signing below, I, ________________________________, declare that I have made all reasonable efforts to find alternate child care arrangements for my child/children before submitting this request. Those efforts have included, but are not limited to, inquiring or attempting to switch shifts, inquiring with my manager regarding adjustments to my schedule, attempting to make arrangements with my spouse or other legal guardian of the child/children to coordinate schedules or modify his/her work schedule, and inquiring with family and friends regarding their ability to assist with child care.
This Secondary Declaration is Applicable to Front Line Health Care Providers Only:
In addition to the efforts noted above, I ______________________________________, declare that I have also contacted 204-945-0776 or 1-888-213-4754 (toll-free) to inquire as to what alternative care can be provided while my childcare services are suspended and will inform my Employer immediately following any changes to my availability should front line childcare services be made available to me.
Please identify if there are other days of the week, shift lengths, flexed shifts or shift times (day/evening/night) which you would be able to work in lieu of your regularly scheduled shift:
If when granted, your accommodation results in you being absent from the workplace for an extended period of time, this time will be an unpaid leave of absence, unless you have available to you and elect to draw on banked entitlements to supplement your income. Should you wish to utilize any banked entitlements, please indicate which of the following banks you wish to draw from. If you wish to utilize more than one bank, please indicate the order in which banks should be drawn from (1, 2, 3):
____ Vacation ____ Overtime ____ Stat
In the event you do not have any hours accrued in the above noted banks you will be placed on an unpaid leave of absence. Any unpaid leave of absence that consistently continues for longer than fourteen (14) days must be reported to HRSS or your respective Employer Benefits Coordinator to discuss the prepayment of benefits.
_________________________________ ______________________________
Employee’s signature Date
Once completed, please return form to your Manager or designate who will then provide a copy to your Employer’s Human Resources Department
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LEADERSHIP, ADVOCACY AND SERVICE FOR MANITOBA’S PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARDS
March 22, 2020
TO: Superintendents Secretary-Treasurers
FROM: Darren Thomas Risk Manager
RE: CLOSURE OF PLAYSTRUCTURES ON SCHOOL PROPERTY
In an effort to curtail the spread of COVID-19 virus, MSBA Risk Management is recommending that all Manitoba School Divisions close all play-structures on all school grounds effective immediately until further notice. These structures are high touch areas and with the Public Health directive to maintain a 2 meter distance, we encourage parents and kids to use the open large spaces such as fields and parks.
Schools should be removing any equipment to limit it’s usage that it can, such as swings. Signage should be placed near the structures where visible for visitors. Please see below for an example of suitable signage wording.
There will be a memo for all divisions to use for effective cleaning once this pandemic has passed.
Thank you!
| Surface | Virus is visible for | Half life |
| Aerosols | 3 hrs | 66 mins |
| Plastics | 3 days | 6 hrs, 49 mins |
| Stainless Steal | 3 days | 5 hrs, 38 mins |
| Cardboard | 24 hrs | 3.5 hrs
(High variable depending on the cardboard) |
| Copper | 4 hrs | 46 mins |
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Traveling in Manitoba
Manitobans are strongly advised to cancel or postpone any non-essential international travel. Self-isolation is recommended for the following individuals or groups for a 14-day period after departing the area they were visiting, or since their last known contact or exposure to someone that has been diagnosed with COVID-19:
- all travelers returning to Manitoba, does not include:
- workers involved with the commercial transportation of goods and services;
- workers who live in a neighbouring jurisdiction and travel to Manitoba for work;
- health care workers who travel to work from outside the province;
- normal personal travel in border communities, including visits to a cottage.
- contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19
- laboratory workers exposed during work
If symptoms develop during the 14-day self-isolation or self-monitoring period, contact Health Links – Info Santé to determine if testing for COVID-19 should be considered. In cases where testing is not recommended, stay home (self-isolate) until well.
