Bearing in mind the impact of the state of emergency which was caused by the COVID-19 virus on the business of the majority of employers in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans’ Affairs and Social Affairs of the Government of the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter referred to as “the Ministry“) on March 24th 2020 has published a detail explanation on the rights and obligations of employees and employers during the state of emergency (hereinafter referred to as “the Explanation“). In this way, the Ministry sought to provide answers to the concerns and questions of employees and employers, who have frequently reported to the Ministry since the declaration of the state of emergency and sought interpretation and answers regarding their rights and obligations.
The first part of the Explanation refers to the appeal to all employers to comply with the Decree on the Organization of Operation of Employers During the State of Emergency and, if the organization of work permits them, to allow their employees to work from home. Employees working from home under the Labor Law are entitled to basic earnings, which cannot be determined to be less than the basic salary of an employee working in the same jobs in the premises of the employer. The Government of the Republic of Serbia on March 24th, 2020 also announced that all companies from the territory of the Republic of Serbia can import masks and protective equipment for their own needs – the needs of protecting the health of their employees working in the premises of the employer.
The Ministry also appealed to employers in the private sector to apply, if the activity permits, the Recommendations for Organizing Work in Public Administrations and State Institutions, adopted by the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government, and to give special protection to persons with chronic diseases and persons older than 60, as well as parents of children up to 12 years.
In the Explanation, the Ministry specifically highlighted issues of importance to both employers and employees such as:
- Legal status and rights of the employee who is in self-isolation / quarantine;
- Rights of employees who use annual leave;
- Right of employees absent from work due to sickness or paid leave;
- Right to unpaid leave – for which the Ministry has specifically emphasized that an employer can only approve at the request of an employee;
- Implementation of redundancy procedure and caution when deciding on termination of employment contract;
- Employee’s right to unemployment benefit – National Employment Service from March 23th,2020 has enabled electronically filing of citizens’ applications for the use of the right to monetary payment.
National Employment Service – Application for the use of the right to monetary payment
However, key questions have not yet been answered on how to treat different situations of non-attendance and how to protect against possible abuse in a situation where there is no act of a competent state authority (self-isolation / quarantine decision), for example when epidemiologist has order the employee via telephone to spend the next 14 days in isolation or the employee was in contact with the infected person and was ordered to have health surveillance reflected in daily contact with the epidemiologist by telephone? It is still unknown whether in all these situations a certificate has to be issued by the competent authorities. Particularly delicate question is the way in which an employee can generally obtain a certificate of temporary disability to work on any other basis if he is unable to consult the chosen physician (restricted movement, closure of counters, emergency procedures only).
If you have any questions or need additional information regarding the rights and obligations of employers and employees during a state of emergency, you can contact Ana Popovic, Partner in the employment department at the Zivkovic Samardzic office at email ana.popovic@zslaw.rs or Teodora Budanovic, a trainee attorney at law in the employment department at teodora.budanovic@zslaw.rs, as well as the regular contact office@zslaw.rs.
Obaveštenje Ministarstva za rad, zapošljavanje, boračka i socijalna pitanja u vezi sa pravima i obavezama zaposlenih i poslodavaca u toku vanrednog stanja
Imajući u vidu uticaj proglašenog vanrednog stanja koje je izazvano virusom COVID-19 na poslovanje većine poslodavaca na teritoriji Republike Srbije, Ministarstvo za rad, zapošljavanje, boračka i socijalna pitanja u Vladi Republike Srbije (u daljem tekstu: „Ministarstvo“), je dana 24.03.2020. godine objavilo sveobuhvatno objašnjenje prava i obaveze zaposlenih i poslodavaca u toku vanrednog stanja (u daljem tekstu:“Objašnjenje“). Na ovaj način Ministarstvo je nastojalo da pruži odgovore na nedoumice i pitanja zaposlenih i poslodavaca, koji su se od proglašenja vanrednog stanja često javljali Ministarstvu i tražili tumačenje i odgovore u vezi sa njihovim pravima i obavezama.
Prvi deo Objašnjenja odnosi se na apel svim poslodavcima, da postupaju u skladu sa Uredbom o organizovanju rada poslodavaca za vreme vanrednog stanja, te ukoliko im organizacija posla to dozvoljava, omoguće svojim zaposlenima rad od kuće. Zaposleni koji rade od kuće prema Zakonu o radu imaju pravo na osnovnu zaradu koja ne može biti utvrđena u manjem iznosu od osnovne zarade zaposlenog koji radi na istim poslovima u prostorijama poslodavca. Vlada Republike Srbije je 24.03.2020. godine takođe objavila da sve kompanije sa teritorije Republike Srbije mogu da uvoze maske i zaštitnu opremu za sopstvene potrebe – potrebe zaštite zdravlja svojih zaposlenih koji rade u prostorijama poslodavca.
Ministarstvo je apelovalo i na poslodavce iz privatnog sektora, da ukoliko im delatnost to dozvoljava, primenjuju Preporuke za organizovanje rada u javnim upravama i državnim institucijama koje je donelo Ministarstvo državne uprave i lokalne samouprave i da posebnu zaštitu pruže licima sa hroničnim oboljenjima i licima starijim od 60 godina, kao i roditeljima dece do 12 godina.
U Objašnjenju Ministarstvo je posebno izdvojilo pitanja od značaja i za poslodavce i za zaposlene kao što su:
- Pravni status i prava zaposlenog koji je u samoizolaciji/karantinu;
- Prava zaposlenih koji koriste godišnji odmor;
- Pravo zaposlenih koji odsustvuju sa rada zbog bolesti ili plaćenog odsustva;
- Pravo na neplaćeno odsustvo – za koje je Ministarstvo posebno naglasilo da poslodavac može da odobri samo na zahtev zaposlenog;
- Sprovođenje postupka viška zaposlenih i opez pri donošenju rešenja o otkazu ugovora o radu;
- Pravo zaposlenog na naknadu u slučaj nezaposlenosti – Nacionalna služba za zapošljavanje je od 23.03.2020. omogućila podnošenje prijave građana radi korišćenje prava na novčanu naknadu, elektronskim putem:
Međutim, još uvek nisu dati odgovori na ključna pitanja kako će se tretirati različite situacije nedolaska na posao i kako se zaštiti od eventualnih zloupotreba u situaciji kada ne postoji akt nadležnog državnog organa (rešenje o samoizolaciji/karantinu), npr. kada je zaposlenom telefonom naloženo od strane epidemiologa da narednih 14 dana provede u izolaciji ili se zaposleni nalazio u kontaktu sa zaraženim licem, pa mu je naložen zdravstveni nadzor koji se ogleda u svakodnevnom kontaktu sa epidemiologom putem telefona? Još uvek nije poznato da li se i u svim tim situacijama izdaje potvrda od strane nadležnih organa. Posebno je delikatno pitanje na koji način zaposleni uopšte može da dobije potvrdu o privremenoj sprečenosti za rad po bilo kom drugom osnovu ako nije u mogućnosti da se obrati izabranom lekaru (ograničeno kretanje, zatvaranje šaltera, postupanje samo u hitnim slučajevima).
Ukoliko imate bilo kakvih pitanja ili su Vam potrebne dodatne informacije u vezi sa pravima i obavezama poslodavaca i zaposlenih za vreme vanrednog stanja, možete se obratiti Ani Popović, Partneru u radnom odeljenju u kancelariji Živković Samardžić na email ana.popovic@zslaw.rs ili Teodori Budanović, advokatskom pripravniku u radnom odeljenju na email teodora.budanovic@zslaw.rs, kao i na adresu za redovan kontakt office@zslaw.rs.