01 november 2020
21:32
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In the fight against the corona virus, the government has made telecommuting mandatory. There are exceptions for people who are really needed in the workplace, but they must then receive a certificate.
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Until now, companies have been asked to make use of teleworking as much as possible. If more people work from home, the chance that the corona virus can spread further is reduced. As the number of infections continues to rise and hospitals are in danger of getting into trouble, Friday new measures announced. One of them is making teleworking compulsory where possible.
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The ministerial decree, in other words the legal framework for the new rules, also states that teleworking becomes mandatory, ‘unless it is (obligation, ed.) impossible because of the nature of the position or the continuity of the business operations, activities or services’. The same exception applies to employees of essential companies, such as medical personnel, police and employees in the food and energy sector.
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Attest
The employer must provide employees who cannot telecommute with a document explaining why this is not possible. ‘She (the employers, ed.) provide staff who are unable to work from home with a certificate or any other documentary evidence confirming the need for their presence at the workplace. ‘
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It is striking that a certificate is mandatory, because this was not the case during the lockdown in the spring. However, the rules were stricter at the time, because there was a ban on non-essential movements. In that case, a certificate makes sense, because people must be able to prove that their trip to the workplace is an essential trip.
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Inspections
Kris De Schutter, lawyer specializing in employment law at Loyens en Loeff, suspects that the obligation will be introduced to make it easier for inspection services to carry out inspections. ‘Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) has already announced those checks and inspection services will then ask employees on the shop floor for their certificate. If there is no certificate, a sanction can follow. ‘
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De Schutter therefore warns companies. “If an inspector comes by who follows the ministerial order to the letter, sanctions may follow if the employees have not received that document.”
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According to De Schutter, the obligation, which was only introduced on Sunday, leads to administrative burden. In many companies – think of just about any company in the manufacturing sector – it is evident that employees cannot telecommute. ‘If the early shift starts at six that Monday and those documents are not available, they are actually not in line.’
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