Coronavirus: Guide for International Employers
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Coronavirus: Guide for International Employers What’s next? Our specialist employment lawyers from across the world For example, working from home; what happens if an have put together this Guide to help international employee falls sick; dealing with national lockdowns in the employers navigate the key issues around keeping your countries to which this applies; and accessing much- employees safe and your business on the road in the time needed government funds to keep businesses going. of coronavirus . Our list of topics is as follows: • Restrictions on daily life • Resuming activity • Data privacy and the use of apps • Pay and leave • Reduction of activity and restructuring • Travel • Discrimination • Reporting to the authorities • Emergency laws and the implications for businesses 2 of 214 Tracy Zhu Desmond Wee Lea Rossi Jeffrey D. Mokotoff China Singapore Italy United States Fangda Partners Rajah & Tann Toffoletto De Luca Tamajo e Soci FordHarrison [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Our Global Taskforce Get in touch with our coronavirus team for all queries about employment and the coronavirus in any of our 59 countries. The team can put you directly in touch with partners in the countries you need to know about. The coronavirus is spreading very fast, so we look at the steps you can take to keep your employees and your business as safe as possible. Note that we make every effort to keep this document up to date, but the landscape is changing every day. Before you take action based on anything we say here, please verify it with a specialist employment lawyer. There are plenty to choose from – at the end of each country’s text you will find contact details. You can also visit our Coronavirus Resource Page and find the information and tools you need to help you manage your international workforce in the wake of the coronavirus . 3 of 214 Click on a country to go directly to it Argentina Denmark Lithuania Slovakia Australia Estonia Luxembourg Slovenia Austria Finland Malta South Korea Bahrain France Mexico Spain Belarus Germany Netherlands Sweden Belgium Greece New Zealand Switzerland Brazil Hong Kong Norway Thailand Bulgaria Hungary Peru Turkey Canada India Poland Ukraine Chile Ireland Portugal United Arab Emirates China Israel Romania United Kingdom Colombia Italy Russia United States Croatia Japan Saudi Arabia Venezuela Cyprus Kazakhstan Serbia Czech Republic Latvia Singapore 4 of 214 • Avoid group meetings. Argentina From midnight 19 March, the Compulsory isolation is gradually being • Suspend internal and external Government has imposed a restriction on relaxed with the incorporation of some events. Last updated: freedom of movement and ‘preventive exceptions. From 10 April the 12/5/2020 and compulsory social isolation’ for government allowed the reopening of: • Place gel alcohol dispensers on anyone who lives in the country or is some banking operations, money transfer doors. temporarily in it. The restriction has been businesses, utility payments, notarial extended to 24 May. activity (‘limited exclusively to enabling • Ventilate closed spaces. the fulfillment of essential activities and During the period of compulsory isolation, services’ or urgent cases) and private • Frequently clean workspaces and no cultural, recreational, sporting, energy infrastructure work. Maintenance work tools. religious, or any other type of event and repair services are permitted for involving the attendance of individuals public transport, security and armed • Avoid contact with sick people or may take place. People must remain at forces vehicles, ambulances or those people with symptoms. home, or in their place of transitory used by individuals authorised to drive residence. They must abstain from under the current regulations. • Request employees with symptoms attending work or going to public places. of coronavirus and/or who were in During the isolation period, they will only Employers who are restarting operations contact with infected people, not to be allowed to carry out minimal trips to must follow the Ministry of Heath enter the workplace. obtain cleaning supplies, medicines and recomendations: food. Malls, restaurants and pubs are • Ask employees who have returned also not allowed to open. • Provide your employees with from a trip from another country not disinfecting products (alcohol gel, to come to work. Infringements of the compulsory isolation tissues, etc.) and promote regular measure will be required to cease hand-washing by employees and immediately and action will be taken by customers. • Instruct employees not to self- the competent authority, within the medicate. framework of the Penal Code. • Train your employees about the symptoms and preventative • Ask employees not to share ‘mate’ The Government has made exceptions to measures they can take to avoid (popular infusion in Argentina, that is mandatory isolation. Individuals involved contagion. usually shared), glasses, forks, etc. in activities and services declared essential in the emergency are exempt • Reduce the number of people in the • Recommend employees maintain and their movements must be limited to workplace (by home working) and if personal hygiene and distance from strict compliance with those activities and it is essential to be present, reduce other employees. services. The full list of exemptions is the numbe of people in common available here, here and here. spaces. If an employee has symptoms such as fever, coughing or breathing difficulties they should stay away from work until a 5 of 214 doctor can confirm they do not have the sick, you should contact a doctor or If you think an employee is getting coronavirus. Meanwhile, you should Public Hospital and they will decide on increasingly sick, you should contact a ensure the entire working area is clean any tests or treatment. doctor or Public Hospital and they will and disinfected. decide on any tests or treatment. If an employee has fallen sick with Tracing apps coronavirus, he or she must stay away from the office, let a Public Hospital know Protecting privacy Tracing apps are only allowed in and take measures to isolate from others. Argentina if strictly necesary for security Employees who have been in close The Ministry of Health, has established a reasons (e.g. in relation to transport of contact with an infected person or specific duty of confidentiality, under merchandise, cash or public transport). recently returned from a high-risk area which medical personnel can require a They are not permitted for medical or must also self-isolate at home with active worker to be permitted to stay away from other reasons. medical surveillance for 14 days. At the work by merely stating that the worker is same time, you, as the employer, should in a ‘risk group’, without further details of keep an eye on the symptoms of any the illness or medical condition that employees who have been in close warrants it. Sickness and quarantine pay contact with any infected employees. The government has placed an obligation If an employee must stay in quarantine Generally, try to keep the workplace on workers to disclose if any of the for two weeks, they are still entitled to be calm, provide hygiene products, stay following situations applies to them: paid by the employer or by the health informed about employees’ symptoms ‘suspected case’, infected, ‘close contact’ insurance service for occupational and travel, and communicate regularly of suspected or infected cases or a diseases, depending on the with all your employees to keep them history of travel to affected areas (Article circumstances. informed. 7 of DNU 260/220). Employees infected with coronavirus are Employees cannot refuse to come back The Ministry of Labor has also entitled to be paid in the normal way. Sick to the office, except he/she has some established an obligation on employers pay is payable by the employer if they legal dispensation. and employees to report any cases of can provide the required medical infection and close contacts to the certificates. You are entitled to ask an employee national health authority. about whether they are infected or have Employees who telework and employees recently travelled to a high-risk area. If your organisation has registered a case who perform the ‘essential activities’ Employees are obliged to inform you of a worker with coronavirus, you can described in 2 above are entitled to be inmediately if they have the coronavirus. report it within the organisation, but paid in the normal way. It could be a serious offence for them to without mentioning the name of the fail to do so, or they could incur civil person involved and their close contacts. Employees who must self-isolate and do liability. You are not entitled to force not work will receive a non-salary someone to be tested. Therefore, if you payment from their employer. think an employee is getting increasingly 6 of 214 Temporary state support for pay During the isolation period, employers force majeure until 30 May 2020. must pay salary or non-salary payments Suspensions under s223 bis of the Labor There is no temporary state support for to the employees, whether or not they Contract Act (see above) are exempt pay. work, see 4. from this prohibition. Any dismissals or suspensions that violate the Emergency Employers can suspend workers for ‘duly Decree will be null and unenforceable. proven reasons of force majeure’ for up to a maximum of 75 days in one year (s 221 of the Labour Contract Law). The Reduction of activity current situation could reasonably be The Argentine government has framed as a force majeure event, but the The only measure employers can take to introduced travel restrictions and most appropriate or most convenient reduce their activity is suspension of the temporary flight suspensions. Argentina legal measures must be decided case-by- employment contract, paying non-salary has closed its borders until 12 April case.