Parents who can't get childcare so they can return to work are being threatened with disciplinary action, it is claimed.
Law Centre NI said several workers had reached out after their bosses told them it would be considered an absence without leave if they didn't show up.
Law Centre NI solicitor, Clare Coulter, said staff whose employers insisted they return to work could be put in "extreme financial difficulty".
She said: "Generally their employers come to them and say we want to open up next week. They’ve tried to find childcare options, found out there’s none - and the employer says you still have to return to work.
"Say it’s a single parent, stuck with three young kids and then being asked to return to work is a very difficult position to be in and a lot of them have to then ask for dependence leave or unpaid leave.
"But most options are unpaid so that puts them in extreme financial difficulty."
Patricia Lewsley Mooney, director of the NI Childminding Association, said government departments - including the Department for the Economy - need to work together so parents are supported when they return to the workforce.
As of Thursday, the keyworker definition for access to childcare has been brought in line with the keyworker definition for schools, opening it up to more employees.
Ms Lewsley Mooney said the sector needs a date from the Executive of when childcare can reopen to all families.
She also urged employers to be flexible, adding: "Employers need to need to be reasonable about what they’re asking for and not reprimanding or disciplining them in some way.
"This is exceptional circumstances, this is Covid-19."
The newly expanded list will come into effect from June 8.
Education Minister Peter Weir said: "As demand for childcare grows, we are determined to ensure that measures are in place to support all our people who are working tirelessly at the frontline of this current crisis.
"This announcement will enable a greater number of keyworkers who are parents to access childcare if they need it to be able to go to work."
