Baker McKenzie’s EMEA Employment and Compensation Team is pleased to provide you with this quick guide for employers, dealing with 11 of the most pressing issues employers are currently faced in light of the Coronavirus outbreak across 19 European jurisdictions. In the words of our French colleagues: “Pas de Panique” – don’t panic.
Use this guide to stay informed, but note that as this situation evolves, so too will the guidance and laws affecting employers in each jurisdiction. The information in this document is presented as at 10 March 2020; the high-level guidance in this document is not intended to be comprehensive legal advice.
Topics covered:
- Are employees obliged to disclose themselves as a “risk-factor” to the employer?
- Can the employer demand employees to disclose themselves as being a “risk-factor”?
- Can the employer issue an instruction (or a policy) requiring employees to report co-workers with flusymptoms (i.e., fever, cough, difficulty breathing, pain in the muscles, tiredness) to the employer?
- Can employees refuse to come to work?
- Can employees refuse to attend meetings or to travel?
- Can the employer send employees on suspension from work?
- When is the employer forced to shut down its operations?
- Does the employer have the obligation to report infections occurring in the business to thehealth authorities?
- Can the employer require an employee to see a doctor?
- If employees are sent on suspension from work, or refuse to come to work or if an operation is beingshut down, do the employees still need to be paid?
- If kindergartens and schools are being closed and employees need to stay home and cannot work, does the employer need to pay them and – if so – for how long?
You can also visit Baker McKenzie’s Coronavirus Resource Center to access a wealth of reference materials around this topic.
