On March 6, 2020, the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security issued Resolution 178/2020, granting an exceptional and voluntary leave to all employees, in the government or private sector, who have returned to the country from destinations with sustained circulation of Coronavirus (COVID-2019), in accordance with the recommendations of the National Ministry of Health. The Resolution does not determine which countries have sustained circulation of Coronavirus. However, the areas reported by the Ministry of Health to have transmission at the date of the resolution are China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Spain, France and Germany.
The resolution establishes that the extraordinary leave is voluntary, thus, it is not mandatory for the employee. It should be analyzed on a case by case basis if the employer is entitled to unilaterally grant the extraordinary leave (even if the employee does not request it) or take any additional measures prior to the employee attending again to the employer´s offices. If the employee takes exceptional leave, this will not affect collection of his or her normal and customary salary, nor any additional benefit that the employee may be entitled to. Nor shall the exceptional leave be taken into account for the purpose of considering any other the employee might be entitled to.
The recommendations of the Ministry of Health establish that in the presence of fever together with cough, sore throat, or respiratory difficulty, and having been in countries with sustained circulation of the coronavirus in the last 14 days or in close contact with a confirmed case of viral disease, it is appropriate to avoid attending public places and being in contact with other people within one meter, and to immediately consult the health system and warn about the history of travel or contact with confirmed cases.
The recommendations of the Ministry of Health consider that the estimated incubation period ranges from 1 to 12 days and provide, among the main actions for contact control, for home isolation and daily monitoring by health authorities for 14 days. So at the request of the employee who complies with these conditions, we understand that, employer should grant the leave for a period of up to 14 days at the request of the employee after the employee has returned to the country from one of the affected destinations.
This report cannot be considered as legal or other advice by Allende & Brea or as including all the subjects of the matters described herein. For additional information on any matter related to labor issues in Argentina, please contact Nicolás Grandi (ngrandi@allende.com) at +54 (11) 4318-9984.
