Back to COVID-19 bussiness support
It is recommended that employers adopt a series of measures in order to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 and ensure the social protection of their employees, as described below.
If the type of work in question allows for it, companies should implement teleworking or homeworking systems for their employees. In cases where teleworking or homeworking is not possible, employers should implement personalised working schedules for their employees, i.e. establishing flexible working hours that ensure the social distancing of employees.
In order to protect jobs, in companies where the pandemic has led to a given reduction in activity but has had no major impact, the parties (i.e. the employer and the employee) may agree to the following:
- a decrease in work duration accompanied by a corresponding reduction in salary
- the taking of unused holiday leave or the taking of holiday leave in advance
- the granting of paid days off work to employees in lieu of future overtime to be performed by employees when the company resumes its normal activity
- the taking of unpaid leave.
In addition to the above, under Presidential Decree no. 195/2020, the validity of collective labour contracts and collective agreements has been extended, while the declaration, triggering or conduct of collective labour conflicts is prohibited among companies operating in those fields stipulated in the Decree (e.g. health and social care, telecommunications, rail transport, public transport, local sanitation, and gas, electricity, heat and water supply).
