Absences from work of government employees due to the imposition of community quarantine in light of the COVID-19 pandemic may be treated as excused absence or vacation or sick leave. This is based on the interim guidelines recently released by the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
CSC Resolution No. 2000953 or the Interim Guidelines on Absences of Government Officials and Employees During the Community Quarantine Due to COVID-19 Pandemic, promulgated on 9 November 2020 and circularized through CSC Memorandum Circular No. 23, s. 2020 dated 16 November 2020, recognizes that many government officials and employees were unable to report for work during the period of imposition of community quarantine due to the suspension of public transportation, lockdown conditions, and lack of agency support mechanisms.
The CSC considers this new policy a way of giving “a more considerate treatment of the absences incurred by officials and employees due to circumstances beyond their control”.
Read more: CSC bares guidelines on absences of gov’t workers during lockdown
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) warns the public against spurious announcements circulating online from a review class that “they can guarantee 90% passing rate.”
The Commission also clarified that it does not endorse or accredit any review center offering classes to examinees and reiterated that review centers claiming to have been accredited are not in any way connected with CSC, adding that availing of review classes will be at one’s own risk as it is not a guarantee of passing the CS exams.
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has amended the guidelines on alternative work arrangements (AWA) in government to align with the community quarantine rules issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
Under CSC Resolution No. 2000912 promulgated on 14 October 2020, and circularized via CSC Memorandum Circular No. 18, s. 2020, agencies located in areas under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) and Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) shall adopt work-from-home arrangement, while skeleton workforce may be allowed unless a different operational capacity is provided in agencies providing essential or critical services.
Meanwhile, agencies located in areas placed under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) and Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) may adopt four-day workweek in combination with other AWAs, provided that the required 40-hour workweek is complied with.
Read more: CSC revises interim guidelines on alternative work arrangements in gov’t
We advise clients and stakeholders of CSC Regional Office II and its Cagayan-Batanes Field Office that the Province of Cagayan, through Executive Order No. 27, s. 2020, has declared placing the whole province under “Komunidad ko, Linis ko” for two days from 16 to 17 November 2020. This is a concerned community cleanup drive to be led by government officials, employees, and workers.
Thus, work on declared days shall be suspended in CSC Regional Office II and Cagayan-Batanes Field Office to give them time to clean up their respective homes and communities of flood debris.
Clients may get in touch with CSC Regional Office II via its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cscdos.gov.ph.
Government employees directly affected by the aftermath of Typhoons Quinta and Rolly may apply for a special five-day leave.
This was announced by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) as it reiterated CSC Memorandum Circular Nos. 2 and 16 issued 16 February 2012 and 17 October 2012, respectively, containing guidelines for the grant of the special emergency leave for state employees affected by natural calamities or disasters.
The special emergency leave shall be for a maximum of five (5) days in a year and non-deductible from the employee’s earned leave credits. It may be availed of within 30 days from the actual occurrence of the natural calamity for five (5) straight working days or on staggered basis.
Read more: Typhoon-stricken gov’t employees may apply for emergency leave