Being diligent with the situation brought by the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Federal Government edited the Law #13.979/2020, published in the Official Gazette of February 6th, 2020, listing some disaster recovery measures that may be adopted by the Government due to the escalation of the Coronavirus.

 

Some measures might directly impact the routines of public and private sector companies, such as:

 

  • Isolation of the individual suspected of having the disease;

  • Quarantine of the individual exposed to situations and / or conditions conducive to transmission;

  • Exceptional and temporary restriction on entering and leaving the country.

  • Definition as a justified absence from public service or private work activity the period of absence, due to the coronavirus;

  • The sharing of data essential to the identification of people infected or suspected of having a coronavirus infection is mandatory, with the sole purpose of preventing its spread;

  • Information in the eSocial of ICD 10 - B34.2 Infection by coronavirus of unspecified location.

 

As a consequence of the outbreak created, there are some options that can be studied by companies in order to assist in government containment plans to prevent the spread of the disease, such as:

 

  • Collective vacations: According to articles 139 and 140 of the CLT, there is the possibility for the company to grant collective vacations to all employees, or to limit establishments or even sectors.

  • Home Office: On November 11th 2017 was published the so called Labor Reform, bringing a few changes in the employment relationship. Among others, there is provision regulating the home office. Our legislation defined the home office as the work rendered predominantly outside the employer branch. It is required to have a specific agreement between employee and employer, even defining the rules for reimbursement of expenses (such as acquisition, maintenance and supply of equipment, internet, infrastructure, among others). 

  • Working hours: One of the measures suggested by the Ministry of Health is to avoid agglomerations, a fact that is complicated when we talk about public transport, with the possibility of changing the schedules and the arrival and departure of employees, so that peak hours are avoided.

 

The possibilities listed above need to be discussed and agreed in advance with the impacted employees. Considering the urgency of more information regarding the impacts caused by the Coronavirus on business routines, RSM is available to help resolve any doubts for the adoption of best practices, duly based on current legislation.