While the pandemic has disrupted business operations across the globe, Latin America is emerging as a promising destination and many companies are setting their sights on the region. More and more, companies are keen to understand what they need to know when expanding in Latin America from an employment perspective and how obligations and risk vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
The Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations has opened a new call for companies to participate in the certification process called “Empresa Segura, Libre de Violencia y Discriminación contra la Mujer” (Safe Enterprise, Free of Violence and Discrimination Against Women). This certification recognizes companies with the best practices in terms of gender equality in employment and gives benefits in the recruitment processes with the state to companies with the best results. Companies have up to 30 March 2022 to register and participate in this new edition of the certification process.
Mainly during the pandemic, the use of technological resources for performing a job has significantly grown. As a result, the access to such resources in the context of internal investigations has become almost a must. This triggers relevant concerns from a data privacy and a labor perspective.
Supreme Decree No. 179-2021-PCM stipulates as follows: “14.7. From 10 December 2021, any person who performs on-site work must provide proof of their complete vaccination against COVID-19, vaccines administered both in Peru and abroad being valid.
Through Ministerial Resolution No. 1275-2021/MINSA, the technical document, “Guidelines for Surveillance, Prevention and Control of Workers Health” (“R.M. No. 972-2020-MINSA”) has been repealed, and the directive laying down new provisions for the surveillance, prevention and control of workers’ health is adopted.
With major vaccine developments in Latin America, including kick-offs for vaccine campaigns, employers should consider whether a vaccination policy is right for their workplace, keeping in mind that such policies implicate a broad range of employment laws and regulations, and that many of these vary from country to country.
An Employment & Compensation Practice and Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry Initiative
With major vaccine developments in Latin America, including kick-offs for vaccine campaigns, employers should consider whether a vaccination policy is right for their workplace, keeping in mind that such policies implicate a broad range of employment laws and regulations, and that many of these vary from country to country.
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,
Supreme Decree No. 014-2021-TR was published last 4 July, by which various articles of the Regulations of the Labor Inspection Law were modified, approved by Supreme Decree No. 019-2006-TR, article 7-A on the Compliance Management Module has been incorporated and paragraph 17.6 of article 17 of the same body of legislation has been repealed.
The National Superintendence of Labor Inspection – SUNAFIL has implemented the application called Self-diagnosis of Safety and Health at Work through which employers will be able to verify their workplace safety and health compliance level. Through an online questionnaire, employers will be able to identify, verify and assess the situation of their companies in terms of compliance with their occupational health and safety obligations.