How to make out the absence of an employee at work during the quarantine period

At the beginning of 2020, Ukraine, like the rest of the world, found itself in a situation that no one expected or was ready for – quarantine restrictions caused by the global pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus.

Along with the establishment of quarantine throughout Ukraine, the Emergency Commission obliged companies to limit the presence of employees in the office as much as possible, and some were forced to suspend their work altogether. Employers were immediately faced with the question of how to register the absence of employees in the workplace without violating the law and the rights of employees. And, if at the time of the start of quarantine these issues caused confusion and the need to think twice to find the best way out for different situations, today the legislation has somewhat facilitated the lives of employers by making the necessary changes to the relevant regulations..
Thus, today, employers clearly understand how to act in any case related to the absence of an employee in the workplace. Consider options for different situations and needs.
1. Transfer of employees to “remote” work (home or remote) for the period of quarantine. This option is suitable for companies and employees whose work does not require special conditions or equipment and can be performed remotely without daily visits to the office. That is, employees will also perform their duties, but outside the employer’s office. The primary task of the employer in this case will be to determine what type of remote work is suitable in each case or the company as a whole. The following are the main differences between telecommuting and homework:

For the transfer of the worker to a distance, I will home the robot for the period of quarantine because of the saving of minds, the transfer of food, the robot teacher has a sufficient form of instruction, with the knowledge that the worker is aware of the work before the date of the establishment of the robot. If you want to know, if you want to guide your minds, you need to change (for example, to transfer the Internal labor regulations with remote robots), one order from the robot manager will be lacking and you will need to work out the labor agreement on the distance.

2. Installation to the forebears of the uncommon working hour. An incomplete working hour of transferring a robot to a foreman on the minds of an unrepentant working day, or paying in proportion to the hour. Such a way will be a good choice for quiet workers, as, for some reason, they do not lose the power of their next working day. In addition, the option was given as a rule for quiet companies, the robots’ duties have changed before the hour of quarantine and the need to be confirmed by the robot’s foreman in the mode of repeated triviality of the working hour at the same hour.
The establishment of an incomplete working hour can be stagnated when robots are in the office, or when the robot is sent out, and when the robot is sent out, you can declare it from the official, for two months ahead of it, about the change of the true minds of the people.

An incomplete working hour can be made by rulings and for the legacy of the foreman, if it is necessary to trace up to one of the categories:
– pregnant women

– women who have a child under the age of 14 or a disabled child

– persons caring for a sick family member
That is, summarizing the above, we conclude that the establishment of part-time work primarily requires the mutual consent of the employee and the employer. However, in some cases, and subject to compliance with the law, may be applied by a single decision of one of the parties.

3. Downtime. However, if the company or its individual divisions are forced to cease their activities for some time due to quarantine restrictions, and, accordingly, employees are unable to perform their work for reasons beyond their control, the company introduces a simple.
Simple can be introduced both for the whole enterprise, and for separate divisions, positions. This type of downtime qualifies as one that arose not through the fault of the employee, and therefore is paid in the amount of not less than 2/3 of the salary, and in some cases even with the preservation of average earnings. The issue of introducing downtime does not require consent and is decided by the employer in consultation with a representative of the workforce.
The decision to declare a standstill is made by drawing up an act, issuing an appropriate order and acquainting the employees to whom the standstill will apply. The order should specify the reasons for downtime, the order of payment, as well as determine the location of employees for such a period. In case of declaring downtime to individual employees, if possible, they should be offered another job at this company for the appropriate period.

4. Leave without pay. Registration of absence of an employee at work in this way is suitable for those employees who during the quarantine period for various reasons can not or do not want to work for some time on their own initiative. Due to changes and additions to Art. 26 of the Law of Ukraine “On Leave” such leave is not included in the general term of leave without pay under the agreement of the parties established by this article for the year. That is, unpaid leave for the period of quarantine is granted for more than the prescribed 15 calendar days, and its duration is limited only by the term of quarantine in Ukraine.

Unpaid leave for the period of quarantine may be granted to an employee only upon his personal application.

5. Leaflet of incapacity for work for the period of self-isolation. This option of registration of absence will be optimal for both the employee and the employer if the employee needs to be in self-isolation, but his work has such specifics that it does not allow to perform it remotely, ie in the place of stay for the period of self-isolation. Individuals who need self-isolation are those who do not actually suffer from Covid-19, however:
– were in contact with a patient with Covid-19

– have a suspicion of infection

– crossed the state border or crossed the checkpoints of entry into and exit from the temporarily occupied territory and agreed to self-isolation using the system via a mobile application.
Such persons, after applying to a medical institution, are issued a certificate of incapacity for work of the established standard, for a period of 14 calendar days. On the form of such certificate of incapacity for work the attending physician personally indicates the reason for incapacity for work “isolation from Covid-19-11”. Payment for the period of self-isolation is made in the amount of 50% of the average salary, regardless of the employee’s insurance experience according to the general rule of sick pay: 5 days at the expense of the company, and from the 6th day – at the expense of the Social Insurance Fund.
Thus, we see that today the employer has the tools to register the absence of an employee in the workplace for the period of quarantine for any situation: from unwillingness or inability of the employee to perform their work at all to the temporary suspension of the company or its individual units. Thanks to this, employers no longer need to “invent a bike”, but simply choose one of the proposed options, analyzing the circumstances, opportunities and needs of each participant in the employment relationship.

Olga Kharchenko,

Senior HR Consultant, EBS