Filenews 14 July 2021 - byAdamos Adamou
Teleworking, dialogue with guilds in workplaces where they operate, unpaid leave, use of paid leave and other alternatives for those employees who do not own or demonstrate SafePass, as required under the latest decree of the Ministry of Health, includes the guidance given yesterday by OEV to its members.
In it, however, it is clarified that if no agreement is reached, a worker who does not own SafePass is not excluded from having consequences, since the absence of an employee from work, without the agreed use of one of the options offered, will be considered as an unjustified absence, which caused the reaction of the EIP.
OEV's recommendation to its members was made, as 'F' informs, following several questions received by the Federation from its members for guidance and because, under the same decree, it is the employers who must ensure that their employees comply with the provisions of the Decree, which obliges all employees to hold SafePass , i.e. either a vaccination certificate or proof that they have been sick or an alternative negative rapid test or PCR carried out within 72 hours.
As the OEB explains, because of the obligation of employers, in the case of an employee who refuses to provide the employer or persons authorised by the employer with the certificates and particulars required by the decree, 'then the entry, taking up of duties or the performance of work in the undertaking, premises or other place where an economic activity is carried out on behalf of or for the benefit of the employer' should be prohibited. As he adds 'if entry and taking up of work is allowed, then liability for breach of the provisions of the decree will also be the responsibility of the employer'.
In such a case, an out-of-court fine may be imposed on undertakings, which are known to be determined on the basis of the square metres of the useful customer service area they serve, starting at €500 and up to €8,000, an increasing rapidly for any subsequent infringement. The amount of the aid was €1 million, under the Famine Clean-up Act. The out-of-court fine for workers is €300.
Teleworking and more
According to OEB, the time of absence due to the above may be managed as appropriate and depending on the nature of each undertaking's operations, in specific ways which it records in the recommendation/circular to its members.
These include the following options:
- Remote work/teleworking/work from home.
- Absence of the employee with earnings and coverage of lost working time when he returns to work through the creation of a timeshare and in a way that will be agreed.
- Use of annual paid leave.
- Absence on unpaid leave.
- Anything else agreed within the legal framework.
"It is understood that contact and cooperation with the guilds there and where they are active is a necessary first step in seeking commonly accepted solutions in the above specific cases," adds OEV.
