Do you know how to guarantee the safety of your employees after returning to work during the COVID-19 pandemic? How to avoid financial penalties during strict PIP inspections?
The gradual unfreezing of the economy and the subsequent re-opening of workplaces entails the necessity to take the necessary measures to limit the spread of COVID-19. The National Labor Inspectorate has prepared guidelines for employers and entrepreneurs who intend to resume economic activity.
Special actions in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic are required not only from managers of public institutions, but also from private entrepreneurs.
What are the responsibilities of managers in connection to the COVID-19 pandemic?
There are financial consequences for non-compliance with the provisions or rules of occupational health and safety in the workplace. Pursuant to Art. 283 § 1 of the Labor Code, the person responsible for the health and safety at work in the enterprise may be fined from PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000. The penalty is also imposed on the person managing the employees (e.g. the manager of a separate organizational unit, foreman) or other natural persons (e.g. contractors of mandate contracts and specific specific contracts or entrepreneurs running their own business).
In the above case, it is a liability for an offense. If non-compliance with the provisions or rules of occupational health and safety leads to a state of immediate danger of loss of life or serious damage to health, the person responsible for the health and safety at work may already be responsible for the offense under Art. 220 of the Penal Code This act is punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years, and in the event of an unintentional act - a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to one year.
Criminal liability under Art. 220 of the Penal Code is already updated when one person is endangered. In this context, separate attention should be paid to the penal provisions relating to public safety.
Pursuant to Art. 165 § 1 point 1 of the CC, bringing danger to the life or health of many people by causing the spread of an infectious disease is punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to 8 years. freedom. If the consequence is the death of a person, this punishment is tightened accordingly. In the case of an intentional act, imprisonment may be even 12 years, in the case of an unintentional act - 8 years. Therefore, in the event of failure to take appropriate security measures by the management of the organizational unit due to the justified suspicion of coronavirus transmission and thus contributing to the spread of the COVID-19 disease, managers may also be liable under Art. 165 § 1 point 1 of the CC in connection with joke. 2 of the Penal Code However, insofar as we are dealing here with criminal liability for failure to take specific actions to prevent the danger to the life or health of many people (according to the doctrine - at least 6), this liability will only be actualized in the event of a risk to life or health. many employees. The specific legal obligation to prevent an effect, which determines criminal liability for an offense committed through omission, can only be mentioned in the employer-employee relationship. Managers are not responsible in particular for the safety of people illegally staying on the premises of the workplace.
It should be remembered at this point that for the mere obstruction or frustration of the activities of the State Sanitary Inspection bodies, there is a risk of arrest up to 30 days, a penalty of restriction of liberty or a fine of up to PLN 5,000.
What rules must be followed so that employees return to work safely and entrepreneurs avoid penalties?
Risk classification
Employers are required to assess the state of risk taking into account all new threats, including mental health. One should also pay attention to unusual situations that may cause problems and how the adopted preventive measures will help the company to function.
It is important that workers and their representatives are involved in the risk assessment verification process. According to doctors and psychologists, the coronavirus epidemic causes anxiety, stress and frustration in most professional groups. A large dose of negative emotions, tension and uncertainty negatively affects reactions and behavior during work.
Schedule of activities
After assessing the risks, a schedule of actions should be drawn up with appropriate safety and control measures to allow safe work while preventing the spread of the virus.
Below is a list of measures necessary to be applied that eliminate or minimize the risk:
- providing personal protective equipment (e.g. professional disinfectants, disposable gloves, masks or helmets) in the number corresponding to the needs of a given workplace)
- limiting the number of people working and staying in the workplace, limiting the number of meetings, rotating customer service, flexible working hours, online contact with customers if possible, and when that is not possible, limiting the number of customers admitted at the same time
- disinfecting and ventilating the workplace, especially places frequently touched by people in the workplace, separating zones that force increasing the distance between employees or employees and customers, limiting cash payments
- training employees on how to reduce the risk of infection, repeating messages
An additional measure influencing the maintenance of safe and healthy working conditions during a pandemic may be the measurement of the body temperature of employees and people visiting the workplace. The basis for the measurement can be derived from Art. 9 sec. 2 lit. b GDPR in connection with joke. 207 §1 and §2 points 1 and 3 of the Labor Code in connection with Art. 3 in conjunction joke. 2 special acts. However, taking into account that these provisions are not clear in terms of granting such a right to an employer, the employer may apply to the GIS under a special act for a decision ordering this type of action.
Attention!
The employer cannot refer the employee for examination due to suspicion of infection.
The employer may also conduct surveys regarding the employee's whereabouts, bearing in mind that they cannot contain questions about the health condition, but only about where the employee has been, what he traveled, whether he was in quarantine, etc. In this case, the legal basis may be Art. 6 sec. 1 lit. f GDPR.
In a pandemic, meeting the obligation to provide safe and healthy working conditions is certainly a difficult task.
Employers are required to reorganize their workplaces, adapting them to the level of risk and the type of work performed by their employees. Otherwise, they should not let their employees go to work, while ensuring that they are fully paid.
It is the employer, regardless of the state of the epidemic, that is always responsible for ensuring proper conditions in the plant and assessing whether these conditions are safe enough for the employee to be allowed to work. Each workplace is different, so the employer should independently consider which measures he can and wants to apply.
Source: Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy
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