24.01.2024

THERE IS NO CONCEPT OF ABSENCE FROM WORK IN BAD WEATHER, ONLY IN DISASTER

There is no concept of absence in existing legislation under impaired weather conditions. The Labor Code (LC) states that the employee is entitled to compensation when he is prevented from reaching his or her workplace for disaster. The emergency is declared by the mayor of the municipality, by the Regional Governor or by the Council of Ministers. This is commented by the Executive Agency "General Labor Inspectorate" (EA GLI). There is no requirement for written notification, but it is good for employees who cannot get to work due to a declared state of state to inform their employers.

The Disaster Protection Act states that disaster is a "significant disruption of the normal functioning of society caused by natural phenomena and/or human activity and leading to negative consequences for the life or health of the population, property, economy and for the environment , prevention, mastering and overcoming which goes beyond the capacity of the system for servicing the usual activities to protect society."

An order for announcing a disaster must have been issued. There are no provisions that are in cases where the worker at his discretion, at freezing temperatures, for example, decides not to go to the workplace. This hypothesis requires leaving the employer's consent.

Even if you can work from a distance, the worker cannot choose on which days to be in the enterprise or in the office and in which one from home. The remote work should be mentioned in the contract and it should be known at what days such an opportunity is provided. Therefore, in bad weather, if the employee preferred to work from home, it is important to find out about this with his employer, and this should be done in writing.

Discharge

The Labor Code provides for the employer to pay the employer to pay 50 percent of the gross remuneration to the workers for the time during which they were prevented from working, but not less than 75 percent of the minimum wage established for the country. If the employee has participated in the rescue work in the disaster, he is paid the full amount of gross wage, the Labor Inspectorate explains.

The Labor Code allows overtime to work in several positions. One of them is to prevent, control and overcome the effects of disasters. "In these cases, overtime is paid in the general order described by the legislator, i.e. the employer must pay more for the extraordinary hours the work done, as follows: for work on weekdays it is paid with a 50 percent increase, for work on weekends is paid with an increase of 75 percent, and work during public holidays is paid with 100 percent increase," GLI commented.

Care for employees in bad weather

The employer has an obligation in the presence of an orange or red code for low temperatures, heavy snowfall, rain, high wind, etc., to comply with the working conditions when working outdoors, experts remind. This is mentioned in the Ordinance on the minimum requirements for the microclimate of the jobs.

There may be a change in working hours to avoid work in the coldest hours of the day. More frequent breaks, hot drinks and more are also recommended. Providing appropriate workwear, suitable personal protective equipment or collective protection means are also part of the requirements. "Monitoring or means of communication with outdoor workplaces, as well as first medical care and conditions for appropriate transportation to a medical facility in the case of sudden poor health, must be provided," GLI said.