One of the main concerns of companies that maintain their activity and where employees continue to go to the facility is how they should act when an employee has been infected with coronavirus.
All companies are required to take security measures against coronavirus,but still, there are situations where an employee cannot be prevented from being infected with coronavirus.
Aware of this, at AYCE Laborytax we have prepared this short guide in which we tell you how to act against an employee infected by coronavirus in your company.
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Employee infected by coronavirus in your company: everything you need to know
> Protocol of action to an employee infected with coronavirus
If there is a confirmed contagion case in your company, you must act as follows:
The first thing will be to send a statement to theentire template, informing the risk of contagion and the relevant measures to be taken. Clear instructions on how to act should also be given in case the activity needs to be interrupted and the workplace immediately left.
On the other hand, you will also need to inform the Public Health Services of your Autonomous Community,and take the following measures:
- Insulate all those who have maintained direct contact with the coronavirus-infected employee.
- And paralyze the activity temporarily or take the necessary measures, such as telework; if there is a high risk of contagion.
What to do with the worker once their contagion is confirmed?
If the contagion has been confirmed, the worker must leave his or her job immediately and quarantine for at least 15 days. In that case, coronavirus infection will be considered an accident at work, as indicated by the Ministry of Labour at the beginning of the pandemic.
After the quarantine period, the worker must perform a PCR test to confirm that he has passed the coronavirusbefore rejoining his or her job.
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What to do if an employee has symptoms of coronavirus contagion?
In case it is not confirmed, but an employee has symptoms of coronavirus infection (fever greater than 37o, cough, shortness of breath, loss of smell and/or taste, tiredness, muscle pain, gastroenteritis,… etc.),you have to differentiate where symptoms have developed,whether at the workplace or at home.
- Workplace symptoms: The employee must quickly communicate it to the company management to activate the protocol of action.
- Home symptoms : Theemployee should communicate the symptoms to the address to the company, and avoid going to the workplace. In addition, you will need to contact the health services to be told how to act. In this case, the company must activate the protocol ofaction, informing the persons who have been able to maintain contact with the affected person, and proceeding to the cleaning and disinfection of the work.
What happens if an employee refuses to go to the workplace for fear of contagion?
A worker cannot refuse to go to the workplace for fear of being infected. In that case, it could be a disciplinary misreed as set out in the Collective Convention of Implementation.
On a voluntary basis, the company could negotiatewith the worker the possibility of teleworking, so that the employee can maintain his activity without risk of contagion in the workplace. But always, consensually on both sides.
What happens if your company doesn’t have a protocol of action against coronavirus?
If your company has not created any protocol of action before the coronavirus, the Company’s Health and Safety Committee has an obligation to promote such actions. If the company does not have such a committee, it will be the prevention delegates who must promote the relevant preventive and organisational measures to be followed in case of contagion.
Photo: Siamak Poorjam – Unsplash
conclusion
In short, in front of an employee infected with coronavirus, the company must quickly isolate the worker, inform the rest of the team and activate the relevant protocol of action to prevent the risks of contagion in the company.
