Imajući u vidu da je vanredno stanje u Republici Srbiji okončano, poslodavci i zaposleni su se uglavnom vratili obavljanju svojih redovnih poslovnih aktivnosti. Međutim, ukidanjem vanrednog stanja, epidemija COVID-19 nije okončana, usled čega su se poslodavci i zaposleni našli pred izazovom kako obezbediti bezbednost i zdravlje na radu i umanjiti rizik od prenošenja virusa COVID-19 na radnom mestu. Iz tog razloga,  Ministarstvo za rad, zapošljavanje, boračka i socijalna pitanja dana 3. jula 2020. godine donelo je Pravilnik o preventivnim merama za bezbedan i zdrav rad za sprečavanje pojave i širenja epidemije zarazne bolesti (,,Službeni glasnik Republike Srbije“ br. 94).

Ovim pravilnikom se propisuju preventivne mere koje je poslodavac dužan da primeni radi sprečavanja pojave i širenja zarazne bolesti i otklanjanja rizika za bezbedan i zdrav rad zaposlenih, kao i lica koja se zateknu u radnoj okolini, kada nadležni organ proglasi epidemiju zarazne bolesti. 

Poslodavac je dužan da, za sva radna mesta u radnoj okolini u kojoj se obavlja rad izuzev na terenu i rada od kuće, donese Plan primene mera za sprečavanje pojave i širenja epidemije zarazne bolesti, koji je sastavni deo Akta o proceni rizika koji se donosi saglasno zakonu i propisima iz oblasti bezbednosti i zdravlja na radu. Takođe, Poslodavac je dužan da Plan primene mera, usled nastalih promena koje utiču na bezbedan i zdrav rad tokom trajanja epidemije usaglašava sa odlukama nadležnog organa.

Planom primene mera se utvrđuju mere i aktivnosti kojima se povećava i unapređuje bezbednosti i zdravlje zaposlenih radi sprečavana pojave epidemije zaraznih bolesti, kao i mere i aktivnosti koje se preduzimaju u slučaju pojave epidemije zarazne bolesti, a u cilju bezbednosti i zdravlja na radu zaposlenih i zaštite prisutnih lica.

Plan primene mera obavezno sadrži:

1. Preventivne mere i aktivnosti za sprečavanje pojave epidemije zarazne bolesti;
2. Zaduženje za sprovođenje i kontrolu sprovođenja preventivnih mera i aktivnosti;
3. Mere i aktivnosti za postupanje u slučaju pojave epidemije zarazne bolesti.

Poslodavac je dužan da na svakom radnom mestu u radnoj okolini obezbedi primenu propisanih preventivnih mera, a naročito da:

1. Pre početka rada obezbedi pisane instrukcije i uputstva o merama i postupcima za sprečavanje pojave epidemije zarazne bolesti, koje sadrži informaciju o simptomima zarazne bolesti;
2. U skladu sa mogućnostima, ukoliko nije organizovan rad u smenama, izvrši preraspodelu radnog vremena uvođenjem druge ili treće smene sa manjim brojem zaposlenih;
3. Sprovodi pojačanu higijenu i dezinfekciju radnih i pomoćnih prostorija, kao i čišćene svih površina koje se često dodiruju na radnom mestu, kao što su toaleti, kvake na vratima, fiksni telefoni, računarska oprema i druga oprema za rad..

U slučaju pojave zarazne bolesti kod zaposlenih, Poslodavac je u obavezi da obezbedi primenu preventivnih mera, a naročito da:

1. Prostor u kome je boravio zaposleni koji je zaražen redovno fizički i hemijski dezinfikuje i provetrava;
2. Poštuje sve procedure ulaska i izlaska u prostorije poslodavca, koristi propisana sredstva i opremu za ličnu zaštitu na radu i druge mere zaštite tokom procesa rada;
3. Svede kontakte zaposlenih iz organizacione jedinice u kojoj je boravio zaposleni koji je zaražen sa drugim zaposlenima samo na nužne uz propisane mere zaštite..

Poslodavac je dužan da u Planu primene mera uredi obaveze i odgovornosti u vezi sa praćenjem i kontrolom primene mera bezbednosti i zdravlja na radu, dok samu proveru efikasnosti primene mera kod poslodavca vrši lice za bezbednost i zdravlje na radu.

Pored obaveza koje poslodavac treba da sprovede, ovim Pravilnikom se utvrđuje i niz obaveza kojih zaposleni treba da se pridržavaju a između ostalog da:

1. Sprovode sve preventivne mere;
2. Namenski koriste propisana sredstva i opremu za ličnu zaštitu na radu i dodatno brinu o svojoj higijeni tako što će redovno i pravilno prati ruke vodom;
3. Obavezno obaveste poslodavca ukoliko posumnjaju na simptome zarazne bolesti kod sebe, kod drugih zaposlenih ili članova svoje porodice, kao i da obaveste poslodavca o svim nepravilnostima i štetnostima koje bi na radnom mestu mogle da ugroze bezbednost i zdravlje..

Ovaj Pravilnik stupa na snagu 11. jula 2020. godine, a u roku od 30 dana od dana stupanja na snagu, poslodavci su u obavezi da usvoje Plan primene mera i da izmene Akt o proceni rizika. 

Ako imate bilo kakva pitanja u vezi sa ovom temom, budite slobodni da kontaktirate Anu Popović: ana.popovic@zslaw.rs, partnera u advokatskoj kancelariji Živković Samardžić ili Vašu redovnu kontakt osobu u advokatskoj kancelariji Živković Samardžić.

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Rulebook on preventive measures for safe and healthy work to prevent the occurrence and spread of an epidemic of infectious diseases

Having in mind that the state of emergency in the Republic of Serbia has ended, employers and employees have mostly returned to performing their regular business activities. However, the lifting of the state of emergency did not end the COVID-19 epidemic, which put employers and employees in a challenge to ensure safety and health at work and reduce the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 virus in the workplace. For that reason, on July 3^th, 2020, the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs adopted the Rulebook on preventive measures for safe and healthy work to prevent the occurrence and spread of an epidemic of infectious diseases (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia” no. 94). 

This Rulebook prescribes preventive measures that the employer is obliged to apply in order to prevent the occurrence and spread of infectious diseases and eliminate risks for safe and healthy work of employees, as well as persons found in the work environment, when the competent authority declares an epidemic of infectious diseases.

The employer is obliged to, for all workplaces in the work environment in which work is performed, except in the field and work from home, adopt a Plan for the implementation of measures to prevent the occurrence and spread of epidemics of infectious diseases, which is an integral part of the Risk Assessment Act, which shall be adopted in accordance with law and regulations in the field of safety and health at work. Also, the Employer is obliged to harmonize the Plan of implementation of measures, due to the changes that affect safe and healthy work during the epidemic, with the decisions of the competent authority.

The implementation plan determines measures and activities that increase and improve the safety and health of employees in order to prevent the outbreak of infectious diseases, as well as measures and activities taken in case of an epidemic of infectious diseases, for the purpose of safety and health at work of employees and protection of the present persons.

The plan for the implementation of measures must contain:

1. Preventive measures and activities to prevent the outbreak of an infectious disease epidemic;
2. Responsibility for implementation and control of implementation of preventive measures and activities;
3. Measures and activities for action in case of an outbreak of an infectious disease…

The employer is obliged to ensure the application of the prescribed preventive measures at every workplace in the work environment, and in particular to:

1. Before starting work, provide written instructions and instructions on measures and procedures to prevent the outbreak of an infectious disease epidemic, which contains information on the symptoms of an infectious disease;
2. In accordance with the possibilities, if work in shifts is not organized, redistribute working hours by introducing the second or third shift with a smaller number of employees;
3. It provides enhanced hygiene and disinfection of work and auxiliary rooms, as well as cleaning of all surfaces that are frequently touched in the workplace, such as toilets, door handles, landlines, computer equipment and other work equipment…

In the case of an infectious disease in employees, the employer is obliged to ensure the application of preventive measures, and in particular to:

1. The area in which the infected employee stayed is regularly physically and chemically disinfected and ventilated;
2. Respects all procedures for entering and exiting the employer’s premises, uses the prescribed means and equipment for personal protection at work and other protection measures during the work process;
3. Reduces the contacts of employees from the organizational unit in which the employee who was infected was staying, with other employees only to the necessary ones with the prescribed protection measures..

The employer is obliged to regulate the obligations and responsibilities in the Implementation Plan regarding the monitoring and control of the application of safety and health measures at work, while the check of the effectiveness of the application of measures by the employer is performed by the person for safety and health at work.

In addition to the obligations that the employer should implement, this Rulebook also establishes a number of obligations which employees should adhere to, and among other things, to:

1. Implement all preventive measures;
2. They purposefully use the prescribed means and equipment for personal protection at work and additionally take care of their hygiene by washing their hands regularly and correctly with water;
3. Be sure to inform the employer if they suspect symptoms of a contagious disease in themselves, other employees or family members, as well as to inform the employer of any irregularities and harms that could endanger safety and health in the workplace..

This Rulebook enters into force on July 11^th, 2020, and within 30 days from the day of entry into force, employers are obliged to adopt the Implementation Plan and amend the Risk Assessment Act.

If you have any questions or need additional information regarding this topic, we invite you to follow our newsletters and/ or contact Ana Popovic, ana.popovic@zslaw.rs. Partner in the employment department at the Zivkovic Samardzic law office, as well as the regular contact at the Zivkovic Samardzic law office at office@zslaw.rs. 

Živković Samardžić Law Office is an active member of an Association of European Lawyers (AEL). With the postponement of Special Interest Group (SIG) Day in Brussels in March due to the coronavirus outbreak, AEL organized virtual meeting of the Employment Special Interest Group to discuss how we are all coping with these unprecedented circumstances with 30 participants from 20 different member firms in attendance.

The crisis is likely to lead to increased levels of certain types of work with cross-border aspects, including restructuring and insolvency (R&I) and M&A projects involving those companies which are particularly badly affected by the economic downturn.  It seems that there would be mutual benefits in connecting firms within the AEL network to exchange experiences and thinking on business development opportunities in these areas. AEL is also considering arranging similar virtual meetings to discuss the impact of COVID-19 in other specialist areas, such as competition and tax as part of the activities of the SIGs for those areas.

Ana Popović, Partner at Živković Samardžić Law Office and Head of Employment Department had an opportunity to briefly explain what steps are being taken so far as it concerns the workforce in our jurisdiction.  

Živković Samardžić Law Office is grateful to AEL for bringing together all colleagues in specialist areas across member firms, to collaborate in relation to the COVID-19 crisis.

Since the declaration of state of emergency in Republic of Serbia on March 15th, 2020, several Government regulations and conclusions, as well as recommendations and guidelines of the competent Ministries have been adopted, which should facilitate emergency management and fight against the COVID-19 virus. In the first week after the emergence of a zero patient in Serbia, a number of questions already arose with employers, on how to organize work, whether it is possible and how to introduce work from home, whether an annex with employees must be concluded, how to provide protection of employees and ensure safety and health at work, etc.

Following the declaration of the state of emergency, the pressing questions that have arisen are how to reduce the costs and negative effects of the pandemic, given that many employers’ work is threatened and workload is reduced and some of employers are forced to interrupt the work. Frequently asked questions also concern how to protect vulnerable categories of employees – chronic patients, employees older than 60 years, parents or single parents with children up to 12 years. On the other hand, there are numerous problems in practice when it comes to the period of self-isolation and how to record such absence of an employee if the competent authority has not issued a decision on self-isolation and there is no certificate of temporary incapacity for work. That’s just part of the issues employers face on a daily basis. Finally, the declaration of a package of economic measures and assistance to the economy has raised several issues and concerns that are being gradually clarified.

One of the issues that has become more relevant as it is approaching June 30th, 2020 is the use of the remaining annual leave for year 2019. According to the Labor Law, employees can take the remaining annaul leave from the previous latest until June 30 of the following year. It was expected that this deadline would be changed in the light of the new circumstances, so the Government adopted Conclusion 05 No. 53-3041 / 2020 of 6 April 2020 by which the Goverment is recommending to employers that they enable the use of vacation from 2019 till 31 December 2020 to employees who have an obligation to regularly perform their duties in a state of emergency.

Regarding the employees who are allowed to perform work outside the premises of the employer (working remotely and working from home), the employer is obliged to allow the use of part of the annual leave for 2019 in accordance with the Labor Law, ie till June 30, 2020. Also, employers are advised to give priority to the use of annual leave, especially in the situation when considering interruption of work, ie referring employees to the so-called “forced paid leave” under Article 116 of the Labor Law.

In ordinary circumstances, the provisions of the Labor Law on the use of annual leave are imperative in nature and the employer and the employee cannot agree to take the employee’s annual leave from the previous year after 30 June of the current year. The Government’s conclusion allows an exception to be made and to allow employees who “have an obligation to perform regular tasks” to use annual leave after the statutory deadline.

However, the question is whether such a recommendation is fair and justified. What are the reasons that have led to a distinction between employees who regularly perform their work tasks from home and employees who regularly perform work tasks in the premises of the employer? One of the reasons could be that employees who are constantly performing work tasks on the premises of the employer are at higher risk of becoming infected with the COVID-19 virus. It is possible that such a conclusion was influenced by the fact that many employees in the public sector – such as health, police, and military have a defined work obligation under the Law on Defense and the Law on military, material and labor required. Considering the formulation of the Conclusion, it can be concluded that this recommendation applies to all those who perform work in the employer’s premises, and not only employees who have been assigned a work obligation. There is an initiative to amend the Conclusion so that no division is made between employees but to allow the remaining 2019 vacation to be used by the end of 2020, depending on the need for work and organization of work with the employer. However, the question is whether the initiative will be accepted in the light of the already adopted Conclusion.

In this regard, all employers should develop a plan of annual leave in consultation with employees and make the appropriate decision in the procedure prescribed by the Labor Law(If the employee has not submitted a request for annual leave) to allow employees annual leave, in accordance with the needs of the work process. If you have any questions or need additional information regarding this topic, we invite you to follow our newsletters and/оr can contact Ana Popovic, Partner in the employment department at the Zivkovic Samardzic law office, as well as the regular contact at the Zivkovic Samardzic law office at office@zslaw.rs.

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Korišćenje godišnjeg odmora u doba pandemije

Od uvođenja vanrednog stanja u Srbiji 15.03.2020.godine donet je niz uredbi i zaključaka Vlade, preporuka i smernica nadležnih Ministarstava koji bi trebalo da olakšaju snalaženje u vanrednoj situaciji i borbu sa virusom COVID-19. Već prve nedelje nakon pojave nultog pacijenta u Srbiji, brojna pitanja su se pojavila kod poslodavaca, od toga kako organizovati rad, da li je moguće i na koji način uvesti rad od kuće, da li mora da se zaključuje aneks sa zaposlenima, kako obezbediti zaštitu zaposlenih i osigurati bezbednost i zdravlje na radu i sl.

Nakon uvođenja vanrednog stanja, aktuelna pitanja koja su se pojavila jeste na koji način smanjiti troškove i negativne efekte pandemije s obzirom na to da je rad mnogih poslodavaca ugrožen i da je smanjen obim posla, a pojedini su primorani i da prekinu sa radom. Česta pitanja se odnose i na to kako zaštiti ugrožene kategorije zaposlenih – hronični bolesnici, stariji od 60 godina, roditelji ili samohrani roditelji sa decom do 12 godina. Sa druge strane, postoje brojni problemi u praksi i kada je reč o periodu samoizolacije i kako evidentirati takvo odsustvo zaposlenog ako nadležni organ nije izdao rešenje o samoizolaciji i ne postoji potvrda o privremenoj sprečenosti za rad. To je samo deo pitanja sa kojima se poslodavci susreću svakodnevno. I na kraju, objavljivanje paketa ekonomskih mera i pomoći privredi je pokrenulo niz pitanja i nedoumica koje se postepeno razjašnjavanju.

Jedno od pitanja koje se aktuelizovalo s obzirom na to da se bliži 30.06.2020.godine jeste i korišćenje preostalog godišnjeg odmora iz 2019.godine. Prema Zakonu o radu, preostali odmor iz prethodne godine zaposleni mogu iskoristiti najkasnije do 30. juna tekuće godine. Očekivalo se da će ovaj rok biti promenjen s obzirom na novonastale okolnosti, tako da je Vlada donela Zaključak 05 broj 53-3041/2020 od 06.04.2020.godine kojim se preporučuje poslodavcima da zaposlenima koji imaju obavezu redovnog obavljanja radnih zadataka u uslovima vanrednog stanja omoguće korišćenje godišnjeg odmora iz 2019.godine zaključno sa 31.12.2020.godine.

Što se tiče zaposlenih kojima je omogućeno obavljanje poslova van prostorija poslodavca (rad na daljinu i rad od kuće) poslodavac je dužan da omogući korišćenje dela godišnjeg odmora za 2019.godinu u skladu sa Zakonom o radu, odnosno zaključno sa 30.06.2020.godine. Takođe, poslodavcima se preporučuje da prednost daju korišćenju godišnjeg odmora, pogotovo u situaciji kada se razmatra prekid rada, odnosno upućivanje zaposlenih na tzv „prinudno plaćeno odsustvo“ na osnovu člana 116 Zakona o radu.

U redovnim okolnostima, odredbe Zakona o radu o korišćenju godišnjeg odmora su imperativne prirode i poslodavac i zaposleni se ne mogu dogovoriti da zaposleni godišnji odmor iz prethodne godine iskoristi nakon 30. juna tekuće godine. Zaključkom Vlade se omogućava da se napravi izuzetak i da se zaposlenima koji „imaju obavezu redovnog obavljanja radnih zadataka“odobri korišćenje godišnjeg odmora i nakon obaveznog zakonskog roka.

Međutim, postavlja se pitanje da li je ovakva preporuka pravična i opravdana. Koji su razlozi koji su naveli da se pravi distinkcija između zaposlenih koji redovno obavljaju svoje radne zadatke od kuće i zaposlenih koji redovno obavljaju radne zadatke u prostorijama poslodavca? Jedan od razloga bi mogao biti taj da su zaposleni koji sve vreme obavljaju radne zadatke u prostorijama poslodavca u većem riziku od oboljevanja virusom COVID-19. Moguće da je na takav Zaključak uticala činjenica i da mnogo zaposlenih u javnom sektoru – kao što su zdravstvo, policija, vojska imaju utvrđenu radnu obavezu na osnovu Zakona o odbrani i Zakona o vojnoj, materijalnoj i radnoj obavezi. S obzirom na formulaciju iz Zaključka, može se zaključiti da se ovakva preporuka odnosi na sve koji obavljaju posao u prostorijama poslodavca, a ne samo na zaposlene kojima je utvrđena radna obaveza. Postoji inicijativa da se Zaključak izmeni tako da se ne pravi podela između zaposlenih već da se omogući da se preostali godišnji odmor iz 2019.godine iskoristi do kraja 2020.godine u zavisnosti od potrebe posla i organizacije rada kod poslodavca. Međutim, pitanje je da li će inicijativa biti prihvaćena s obzirom na već doneti Zaključak.

S tim u vezi, svi poslodavci bi trebalo da naprave plan korišćenja godišnjeg odmora uz konsultaciju sa zaposlenim i donesu odgovarajuća rešenja u proceduri koja je propisana Zakonom o radu (ukoliko zaposleni nije podneo zahtev za korišćenje godišnjeg odmora) kako bi zaposlenima omogućili korišćenje godišnjeg odmora, a u skladu sa potrebama procesa rada. Ako imate pitanja u vezi sa ovom temom, pratite naše objave i/ili kontaktirajte Anu Popović, partnera u advokatskoj kancelariji Živković Samardžić ili Vašu osobu za redovan kontakt u advokatskoj kancelariji Živković Samardžić.