Elena Cannone will meet entrepreneurs, managers and experts at the online workshop organized tomorrow, Wednesday 11 March by RoadJob to share and identify the best management methods and best practices to face the COVID-19 Emergency.
RoadJob shares and compares the measures taken to deal with the Coronavirus emergency during an online workshop to be held on March 11, from 09.00 to 10.30 am.
The workshop is aimed at entrepreneurs and managers, and will consist of a comparison, with the intervention of experts, on the management measures taken and to be taken in individual companies.
They will take part:
Since the beginning of February, the work of our “Coronavirus HR Task Force”, made up of our close-knit team of lawyers (for employment law, security law and privacy issues) and HR Capital‘s labour consultants, has continued unceasingly.
The complex situations that the context requires companies to deal with mainly concern:
Il diffondersi del nuovo virus COVID-19 (cd coronavirus) impone alle aziende di aggiornare il Documento di Valutazione dei rischi (cd DVR), tracciando il nuovo rischio biologico ad esso collegato. Ciò in quanto il datore di lavoro: (i) ai sensi dell’art. 2087 cod. civ., ha il dovere di apprestare tutte le misure di sicurezza al fine di garantire l’integrità fisica e la personalità morale dei dipendenti e (ii) ai sensi del D.Lgs. 81/2008 ha la responsabilità di tutelare i lavoratori dall’esposizione a rischio biologico con la collaborazione del Medico Competente, ove presente. Il datore di lavoro deve individuare misure di prevenzione e prevedere sessioni formative specifiche per i lavoratori coinvolti. Resta inteso che tra le misure di prevenzione da implementare vi sono quelle fornite dal Ministero della salute, tra le quali si annoverano le seguenti: (i) lavarsi frequentemente le mani; (ii) evitare contatti ravvicinati con persone che soffrono di infezioni respiratorie acute; (iii) non toccarsi naso, bocca e occhi con le mani; (iv) pulire le superficie con disinfettante a base di cloro o alcol; (v) evitare contatti con persone che presentano sintomi simil influenzali.
The alarm generated by the rapid increase of the number of Coronavirus cases in the last few days, especially in Lombardy, has led the Government to implement extraordinary measures in order to limit the chance for the spread of outbreaks by means of Law Decree no. 6 of February 23, 2020 and the relevant implementing decrees.
In this context, the employer has both the legal obligation to take technical and organizational measures in order to preserve the health and safety of its workers and a social role so that exposure to the risk of contagion and its proliferation is minimized.
In fulfillment of the aforementioned law decree and the relevant implementing provisions, for companies with registered or operational offices in the municipalities of Lombardy and Veneto regions, affected by the measures to contain the contagion, it is provided the suspension of work activities, except for companies that provide essential services and public utilities as well as of those activities that can be carried out at home or remotely.
Equally, the suspension of work activities has been ordered for workers resident or domiciled, also de facto, in the aforementioned municipalities, even if such activities take place outside the containment areas.
In order to facilitate the normal performance of employment relationships established in the areas considered at risk or with workers residing or domiciled there, it has also been provided the possibility of automatically application of the so-called smart working, governed by Articles 18 to 23 of Law no. 81 of May 22, 2017, even in the absence of prior individual agreement as per Article 19 of the aforementioned law.
By means of decree of Prime Minister of the last February 25, this possibility has been extended until March 15, 2020, also to employers with registered or operational offices in Emilia-Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Liguria regions, to workers resident or domiciled there who work outside these territories.
In all the aforesaid cases, in the telematic procedure the individual agreement must be replaced by a self-certification attesting that the smart working relationship refers to a person belonging to one of the at-risk areas. In the field “date of signing the agreement”, it shall be entered the date of beginning of smart working.
The decree of the Minister of Economy and Finance, which relates to the obligations of taxpayers living in areas affected by the Covid-19 virus emergency, is currently being published.
The aforementioned decree provides for the suspension, from February 21 to March 31, 2020, of obligations to make withholding taxes on employment and similar incomes for withholding agents having their registered or operational offices in the municipalities of the Lombardy and Veneto regions affected by the measures to contain the contagion.
Having said that, it should be remembered that the employer also has the legal obligation to implement technical and organizational measures to preserve the health and safety of its workers and to reduce as much as possible the exposure to the risk of contagion and its proliferation.
As a result of this, companies are required to:
De Luca & Partners Law Firm has created a task force to support companies at this sensitive stage. The Compliance Department is at your complete disposal to provide you with the necessary support and assistance.
For further information and details, you can contact either your usual advisor or: Elena Cannone, coordinator of the Compliance Focus Team.
News regarding the spread of Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) require companies to take measures to prevent the risk of infection as far as possible, since, as it is known. In accordance with the Italian applicable law, the employer:
– pursuant to article 2087 of the Italian Civil Code, has the duty to provide all security measures to ensure the physical integrity and moral personality of the employees, and
– pursuant to Legislative Decree 81/2008, has the responsibility to protect workers from exposure to biological risk with the collaboration of the competent doctor, where present).
In this respect, it should preliminarily be noted that, in our continent, at the time, there is no sign of the spread of the epidemic, as cases of coronavirus are sporadic and not alarming. As far as the territory of Italy is concerned, the Ministry of Health stated that “the virus circulation does not exist”.
The risk of transmission, therefore, is to be considered remote, except for those who have close and long-lasting contacts with sick subjects.
Cautions must be taken in particular with regard to employees (both on-site or travelling) who, due to their duties, have relations with “Eastern Countries” and mainly with people from the areas of China where the epidemic is ongoing.
Due to the above, in accordance with the indications provided by the Italian Ministry of Health, employers must provide employees who work closely with the public with guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus, using the standard hygiene measures to limit the geographic spread of respiratory transmitted diseases, such as:
– wash hands frequently;
– pay attention to surface hygiene;
– avoid close and long-lasting contacts with those who present flu-like symptoms.
According to the Ministry of Health, if, during the work relationship, somebody gets in contact with a person who meets the definition of a “suspicious case” as defined by the circular issued by the Ministry of Health on January 27, he/she has immediately contact the health services and report that it is a suspicious case of 2019-nCoV.
While waiting for the medical staff to arrive:
– avoid close contact with the sick subject;
– provide her/him with a surgical mask;
– wash hands thoroughly and pay attention to body surfaces that may have come into contact with fluids (respiratory secretions, urine and faeces) of the sick subject;
– ask to the sick subject to throw away the used napkins directly in a waterproof bag. The bag will be discarded with the infected materials produced during the medical activities of the rescue staff.
To prevent the risk of infection, the employer is required to adopt procedures and provide the employees with hygiene instructions.
De Luca & Partners Compliance Department is at your complete disposal to provide you with the necessary support.
For further information and details, please contact Elena Cannone, Focus Team Compliance coordinator.
