The intricacies of Covid-19 for employers and employees
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown measures, questions are being asked about the myriad of legal implications at the workplace.
MBOMBELA – Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown measures, questions are being asked about the myriad of legal implications at the workplace.
The minister of employment and labour, Thulas Nxesi, issued a directive in terms of regulation 10(8) of the regulations issued by the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act no. 57 of 2002), in this regard.
Henk Frey, a local attorney, said most questions are answered in this directive.
“In terms of the directive, an employee who has tested positive for the virus must remain in self-isolation for a mandatory period of 10 days before being allowed to return to the workplace,” he said.
Going to work with the knowledge that you have tested positive can get you in trouble, said Frey.
A recent Labour Court case, however, proved the issue is not an elementary one.
An employee of a local butchery was fired for going to work just after he had tested positive for Covid-19.
“The Disaster Management Act renders an employer potentially liable if anybody at the workplace contracts Covid-19, particularly if negligence is involved,” said Frey.
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The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) then reinstated the employee, finding he should rather have received a written warning in line with the company’s disciplinary code.
But the Labour Court in Johannesburg upheld the dismissal. The court found he put the lives of his colleagues at risk by ignoring various health and safety protocols and procedures.
“It is therefore necessary to follow the protocols to keep the workplace safe,” said Frey.
“When an employee informs an employer that they are experiencing Covid-19-related symptoms, the employer may not allow the employee to report for work or to enter the workplace and must place the employee on sick leave.”
But what about the people this person came into contact with?
“In this case, the employer must identify all of the employees who may have come into contact with the infected employee, and must assess the risk of exposure in respect of each of the identified employees,” said Frey.
In terms of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases’s website, positive individuals are most infectious from two days before the onset of symptoms to 14 days thereafter. Employers should use the infectious period as a guideline to assess the risk of exposure at the workplace.
