New solutions for employee’s protection – making work relationships more flexible

In the context created by the coronavirus (COVID19) pandemia, employers play a major role in reducing the risk of employee contamination with the new virus.

Apart of the implementation of additional hygiene measures and the correct information of employees on how to protect themselves, companies can adopt, in the framework of labour relations, solutions that make work schedule and the way of work more flexible.

One of the measures may be the decaling of the work programme, as state Secretary Raed Arafat recommends in the middle of last week.

In the context created by the coronavirus (COVID19) pandemia, employers play a major role in reducing the risk of employee contamination with the new virus.

Apart of the implementation of additional hygiene measures and the correct information of employees on how to protect themselves, companies can adopt, in the framework of labour relations, solutions that make work schedule and the way of work more flexible.

One of the measures may be the decaling of the work programme, as state Secretary Raed Arafat recommends in the middle of last week.

Basically in companies with more than 99 employees, working hours could start at different times, i.e. 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00, so as to avoid crowding in public transport. The measure is optional for the privat sector, but mandatory for public institutions from 12 to 31 March 2020, with the possibility of prolongation depending on the evolution of the epidemic.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has made a number of recommendations to companies to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection.

Thus, companies may establish individualised work programmes, with the agreement or at the request of employees, in accordance with the provisions of Article 118 of the Law 53/2003 – the Labour Code, respecting the maximum legal length of working time.

Another measure which may be adopted is the temporary modification of the place of employment at the employee’s home, in accordance with the provisions of Article 108 to 110 of the Labour Code, unilaterally or by agreement of the parties, expressly specifying in the decision or, where appropriate, in the additional act amending the workplace, the following elements:

• the fact that the employee works from home;
• the period during which this measure applies;
• the programme in which the employer is entitled to control the employee’s activity or the actual way of carrying out the control;
• the employer’s obligation to ensure the transport to and from the employee’s home, where applicable, of the raw materials and materials he uses in the activity and of the finished products he makes;

In this situation, the employer is required to ensure the training of workers in the field of safety and health at work..

For the areas of activity where this is possible, employers may adopt the solution to the conduct of work by telework. In this case it is necessary to conclude an addendum to the individual employment contract, under the conditions laid down in Law No. 81/ 2018 on the regulation of the work of telework. Telework is possible where the performance of the tasks specific to the office, occupation or profession of the employee, involves the use of information and communication technology.

Note that the addendum must contain the following elements:

• express indication that the employee works on a telework;
• the period and/or days when the teleworker carries out his activity in a job organised by the employer;
• the place(s) of the work of telework, agreed by the parts;
• the programme in which the employer is entitled to verify the activity of the teleemployee and the concrete manner in which the control is carried out;
• how to highlight the working hours provided by the teleemployee;
• the responsibilities of the parties agreed according to the place/places of the work of telework, including responsibilities in the field of safety and health at work;
• the employer’s obligation to ensure the transport to and from the place of the telework of the materials which the teleemployee uses in his activity, as appropriate;
• the employer’s obligation to inform the teleemployee of the provisions of the legal regulations, the applicable collective agreement and/or the internal regulation, in matters of the protection of personal data, and the obligation of the teleemployee to comply with those provisions;
• the conditions under which the employer bears the expenditure relating to the activity on a telework basis;
• the period and/or days when the teleworker carries out his activity in a job organised by the employer;

The Ministry of Labour also stated that if quarantine is established or in the event of force majeure, the individual employment contract will be suspended by law in accordance with the provisions of art. 50 lit.c) si f) of the Labour Code;
the programme in which the employer is entitled to verify the activity of the teleemployee and the concrete manner in which the control is carried out;

Where a company worker is confirmed with COVID19, the employer shall inform the Directorate of Public Health within the area where it operates, in order to start the procedures for carrying out the epidemiological investigation.

The employer is also required to inform workers of the procedure for granting sick leave in the event of quarantine and home isolation.