The guidelines for the application of the emergency reduction, modification or suspension of the workday during the declaration of a health emergency were issued by the Ministry of Labor through Ministerial Agreement No. MDT-2020-077 of March 15, 2020, and amended by Agreement No. MDT-2020-080 of March 28, 2020.
For the purpose of quickly understanding the provisions contained in these two agreements, I have prepared this document so that it enables the parties involved in the employment relationship to reach agreements to achieve strong cooperation in the actions taken to face the recovery of job-generating companies in a supportive manner.
The return to normal will not be automatic upon the decree ending the state of exception arising from the health emergency; designing the necessary consensus will allow preparing for recovery and mitigating economic and social repercussions; all actions will depend on the ability to avoid the paralysis of productive processes, the closure of companies, which results in the destruction of employment.
It is in these moments of crisis that the best of our abilities and intellects must emerge to overcome it. With everyone's effort, we will begin the recovery process with greater strength, confident that we will grow as individuals and as a society.
The purpose of the aforementioned agreements is to enable and regulate three situations in the workday that may arise during the declaration of the health emergency: 1) Reduction, 2) Modification, and 3) Suspension.
The scope of application of the provisions is exclusively for the private sector.
The purpose of the provisions is to guarantee the stability of workers and consequently protect the country's economy.
It is the private sector employer who has the power to apply, indistinctly, any of the preventive measures in relation to the workday.
REDUCTION
If the reduction of the workday is adopted, it will be carried out in accordance with the following rules:
1.- There must be a prior agreement between employer and worker.
2.- Authorization must be requested from the Ministry of Labor, without the need to demonstrate the necessity of it due to force majeure or reduced income; however, the Ministry may require the employer to submit an austerity plan, which may include reducing the income of the company's managing directors to maintain the measure.
3.- The period cannot exceed six months, renewable once for an additional six months.
4.- The workday cannot be reduced to less than thirty (30) hours per week.
5.- Dividends to shareholders corresponding to the fiscal year (2020) of the workday modification may only be distributed if the hours reduced during the measure are first paid to the workers.
6.- If dismissals occur, severance payments and bonuses will be calculated based on the last remuneration received by the worker before the workday adjustment.
7.- Social security contributions corresponding to the employer will be paid based on eight hours of work per day.
This measure must be registered and authorized through the following procedure:
a) Under their responsibility, the employer must complete and register the form available on the SUT platform (Unified Labor System).
b) The Regional Director of Labor and Public Service will issue the respective electronic authorization through the SUT platform.
c) The employer will communicate, by any available means, to their workers regarding the reduction, modification or emergency suspension of the workday and the estimated duration of the measure.
MODIFICATION
If the modification of the workday is adopted, it will be carried out in accordance with the following rules:
This measure will be adopted without violating the rules regarding the maximum working day of eight hours per day, so that it does not exceed forty hours per week, guaranteeing the worker rest for two consecutive days.
The legal regulations referred to in the ministerial agreement, in these cases, provide that among the circumstances authorizing work on Saturdays and Sundays are fortuitous event or force majeure, applicable in this exceptional situation; as well as the fact that prior authorization from the labor inspector is not required, but there is an obligation to communicate the exceptional event.
In the case of emergency modification, the administrative provisions issued due to the health emergency establish a registration and authorization procedure, the same as I indicated when referring to the reduction of the workday.
SUSPENSION
If the emergency suspension of the workday is adopted, it will be carried out in accordance with the following rules:
It is applicable only for work activities that cannot use telework and/or the emergency reduction or modification of the workday.
The employer must communicate the suspension according to the procedure provided for the registration and authorization of the measure, without this implying the termination of the employment relationship.
PAYMENT OF REMUNERATION DURING THE TIME THE EMERGENCY SUSPENSION OF THE WORKDAY PERSISTS
The guidelines issued by the Ministry of Labor provide that by mutual agreement, freely and voluntarily, the employer and workers may establish a payment schedule for the remuneration that by law corresponds to them during the time the emergency suspension of the workday persists.
Labor relations in times of coronavirus
10 min de lectura
The Ministry of Labor established guidelines during the health emergency to allow private sector employers to reduce, modify or suspend the workday. These measures seek to protect employment and the national economy. The provisions require agreement between the parties, authorization from the Ministry, and compliance with certain requirements, such as maintaining social security contributions and registering actions in the SUT system.