In brief
Through Law No. 31246, published on 25 June 2021, Articles 49 and 60 of the Occupational Safety and Health Law, Act No. 29783 were amended. The amendment seeks to guarantee the welfare of the worker against communicable diseases inside and outside the workplace, through the following provisions:
- When a health emergency is declared, the employer exercises epidemiological surveillance and health intelligence with respect to its workers in order to control the spread of communicable diseases. To this end, the employer carries out the necessary screening tests on its staff, which must be duly accredited by the National Health Authority, without generating any cost or wage withholding for workers.
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) provided to workers must comply with Peruvian technical standards. Its cost is borne entirely by the employer, without generating any cost or wage withholding of any kind. Persons performing remote work should also receive PPE as necessary for the performance of their duties, if applicable.
It should be noted that under current regulations, employers are only required to perform COVID-19 screening tests on personnel whose exposure risk has been rated as high or very high. We hope that by means of a regulation, the obligation to carry out screening tests referred to in the new law will be specified and restricted to these cases.
We trust that this information will be useful to you and your company. If you require legal advice on this issue, do not hesitate to contact us.
