COVID-19 and the reimagined workplace

Participation at the global ELA complimentary webinar series featuring legal experts from around the globe: The Reimagined Workplace: Resilience and Realignment During the Global Recession that took place on July 14^th 2020.

Dinova Rusev and Partners Law Office

NEWSLETTER
www.drp-legal.com

Resilience and Realignment in Business in BULGARIA

Dealing with the new reality

Back to Work – how to create a safe environment at the usual workplace

Adjust Risk Assessment

• Prevention of workplace-related infections with Covid-19 remains responsibility of employers.
• Risk assessments should be adjusted to include the potential risk of Covid-19, as well as the respective measures to mitigate it.
• Occupational health service providers can help in identifying specific hazards and manage them

Prepare the Workplace

• Limiting exposure to Covid-19 in the workplace requires series of collective and individual control measure
• Inform employees
  Clear communication is essential and employers should present detailed health and safety instructions to their employees

The Reimagined New Rules to Remote Work

• main differences with the general rules for remote work
  – no need of employees` consent and special written agreements
  – all terms and conditions are to be stipulated with an employer`s written order
  – no special requirements for the new place of work

Other Forms of Flexible Work Arrangements

• Introducing part time work without employees` consent

Paid Leave Use Without the Consent of the Employees

• employers may order the use of up to half of the annual paid leave allowance during announced state of emergency or emergency epidemic situation in the country
• employers may order the suspension of the operation of the entire enterprise or part/s of it. In this case employers may order use of the entire annual paid leave allowance even for such employees not yet eligible to use paid leave
• special categories of employees who benefit from the right to use annual paid leave or unpaid leave which the employers are statutory obliged to allow

Dismissal With Prior Notice
The Bulgarian Labour Code allows employers to dismiss employees with prior notice in case of stoppage of the work for more than 15 working days or decrease of the volume of the work.

For both cases the employer’s obligations for selection and employees’ protection from dismissal apply and if needed all mandatory procedures with this regard are to be followed.

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