As of August 1, 2022, you will be able to work despite a positive corona test. Labor law expert Philipp Brokes sees some difficulties here.
It’s fixed: Corona quarantine will be replaced by traffic restrictions on August 1, 2022. This means that any infected person can continue to go out on the street and even visit bars, cinemas and the workplace – with FFP2 mask. A decision that is already causing great concern among specialists, causing public commotion and presenting companies with a new challenge.
“Heute” asked labor law expert Philipp Brokes of the Vienna Chamber of Labor what and how employees can still protect themselves:
What are the consequences of coming out of quarantine from the point of view of labor law?
Phillip broke: The new regulation raises more questions than it answers. The problem here is that this is new territory in terms of labor law, for which there are no clear court rulings or convincing doctrines. The federal government’s intention is clear: the economy complains about the lack of personnel, so the mandatory quarantine must be abolished. Indeed, this will make it possible to keep people in the company, but the price of this may not have been fully calculated by everyone. The uncertainty of many employees about being infected at work by infected colleagues, conflicts within the workforce when people who test positive are present in open offices side by side, for example alongside people at risk, and last but not least least importantly, strong concerns about being affected by Long-Covid after a timid recovery are just some of the fears that could have a negative impact on productivity and therefore economic development.
“The price of this may not have been fully calculated by everyone.”
Can employers force their employees to work with a corona infection?
We know that even before the pandemic, many employers used to persuade sick employees to come to the company with symptoms of illness – for example, under threat of dismissal. Why should this be any different now? It is true that people who are given sick leave by a doctor are officially unable to work and are therefore “excused” prevented from working, but who says that everyone who really needs to do so is actually going to call it sick? It would be advisable for all employers to allow infected employees to recover and not assign them to work. In practice, however, there are reasons to fear that this will be handled differently from company to company.
And vice versa? Can the employee insist on coming to work?
If an employer introduces a protection concept that says infected employees should stay at home, that should be interpreted as house rules and followed accordingly. From a purely legal point of view, an individual employee cannot enter the company against the will of the employer.
Fear doesn’t give you the right to stay at home
Can I refuse to come to work if someone infected with the corona virus is present – previous illness or not?
Usually not, because these infected people can be present at the company as long as they comply with prescribed traffic restrictions. A previous illness, belonging to a risk group or the total disregard of the duty of care on the part of the employer can indeed become legally problematic if there is an immediate danger to life or health. There will be these isolated cases, but that doesn’t help all those who don’t have previous illnesses but are simply afraid of being infected by infected peers. However, I would not see a “general right to refuse service” in this case.
“These people must continue to quarantine at home.”
Whose responsibility is it if the infected worker does not want to wear a mask?
Anyone who does not wear a mask despite traffic restrictions, although they can, commits an administrative infraction under the Epidemic Law, for which fines of up to 1,450 euros are threatened, or up to 2,900 euros in case of recurrence. In addition, an offense provided for in the Penal Code is also generally committed, for which, in turn, there is a risk of imprisonment of up to three years. Incidentally, this also applies to an employer that allows employees with restricted traffic to enter the company without a mask despite the presence of other colleagues.
What if a mask cannot be used for health reasons?
If the mask cannot be used for health reasons, the legal situation remains almost unchanged: these people must continue to quarantine at home.
Navigation account kiky time30.07.2022, 06:31| Act: 07/30/2022, 06:31