Employers are now allowed, as of August 12th, to resume, for specific periods, the suspended labor contracts and with this, call their workers to perform functions only during the days or weeks in which they can work, by the different alerts and restrictions issued by the Ministry of Health.
The modification to the decree that enables this option was published this Wednesday in the Official Gazette La Gaceta and “facilitates the virtual process for employers to resume contracts during commercial opening periods,” the Ministry of Labor informed. To request the resumption of work, employers must notify workers 48 hours in advance and must indicate the period for which the contract activation will apply.
“The temporary resumption may be carried out if the employer considers it appropriate and there is an authorization for them, which does not imply that they must be continuous days or weeks”, it is indicated in the document where the Ministry explains that this means “the resumption does not necessarily mean they will be for full weeks or days in a row but according to the need of the business that carries out the openings according to the measures announced by the Government”. The executive decree that regulates these options is No. 42248 – MTSS and was created due to the need to suspend contracts due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The modification establishes in article 5 that during the temporary resumption of functions, all the rights and working conditions “existing in their original situation before the application of the measure of suspension of the employment contract” must be guaranteed (to employees). The Ministry of Labor enabled a Web page form so that employers can report on temporary lifting of contract suspensions.
“We have considered it appropriate to facilitate these processes, considering the need to be clear that both employers and workers must carry out during the business opening and closing times required by the Health safety restrictions.
“At the same time, we are protecting the labor rights of working people, who have been affected by the application of these employment protection measures, and ensure the original conditions of the employment contracts suspended due to COVID-19”, declared the Minister of Labor, Giannina Dinarte.
