Return to work and workplace safety measures amid COVID-19 outbreak

Introduction
Safety measures that employers should consider
Penalties
Inspecting compliance

Introduction

Active cases of COVID-19 are slowly beginning to decrease in Chile. In some areas, the authorities are gradually easing lockdown and movement restrictions.

In this slow transition out of pandemic mode, companies are beginning to resume operations. As such, the Ministry of Employment has created a Step-by-Step Employment Plan which highlights the safety and prevention measures that employers and employees must take in the workplace. By following this plan, employers may fulfil their legal obligation to protect employees' life and health in the workplace. The Ministry of Employment's plan follows the Ministry of Health's Resolution 591 (published on 25 July 2020) and provides:

• step-by-step information for employees and employers;
• an overview of the Employment Board's inspection role in the COVID-19 context; and
• an overview of the insurance administration bodies' roles under Law 16,744.

Safety measures that employers should consider

The Step-by-Step Employment Plan highlights the safety measures that companies should consider when returning to work. These security measures should be planned, implemented and developed through the following seven steps.

Information
Employers must stay informed about health prevention measures contained in official guidance (eg, the national COVID-19 Way of Life protocol, the Action in COVID-19 Workplaces protocol, the Employment Board's resolutions and material from the Occupational Accident and Illness Insurance Administrator).

Organisation and agreements
Employers must involve all members of the company when taking preventive measures. In particular, employees, unions, health and safety committees, experts in risk prevention and risk prevention departments should be involved. This will help to develop internal protocols of prevention measures and organise work to reduce contact between employees – for example, by:

• identifying employees who should postpone their physical return to the workplace;
• promoting remote working;
• adapting different shifts and hours of entry, exit and lunchtime for employees in order to avoid crowds;
• avoiding face-to-face meetings; and
• encouraging the use of telematic channels.

Socialisation and training
Employers must communicate their internal protocol of prevention measures to employees, informing them of their rights and obligations or eventual modifications to the internal protocol. Employers should train all employees that work in their facilities (internal or outsourced employees) regarding:

• COVID-19 transmission;
• COVID-19 symptoms;
• the actions to be taken if someone exhibits symptoms;
• preventive measures;
• the use of personal protection equipment (PPE); and
• the company's protocols to prevent or reduce the risk of contagion.

Adaptation and implementation
Employers should adapt and implement:

• engineering prevention measures, such as demarcating and separating spaces to guarantee a minimum distance of one metre between employees;
• administrative prevention measures, such as ensuring the cleanliness, hygiene and disinfection of the workplace; and
• personal prevention measures, such as promoting:
  • frequent hand washing with soap and water or alcohol gel solutions;
  • that employees avoid physical contact;
  • the appropriate use of PPE such as masks; and
  • employees' early communication to the company if they present COVID-19 symptoms.

Employees' mental health
With regard to employees' mental health and wellbeing, employers must:

• maintain permanent dialogue and effective communication with employees;
• evaluate workloads;
• promote health and wellbeing; and
• provide information on preventive and supportive measures for employees.

Collaboration with the authorities on the COVID-19 traceability strategy
Early identification of suspected cases in the workplace can help to reduce wider transmission. Employers should:

• perform daily checks of COVID-19 symptoms;
• ensure timely communication of confirmed COVID-19 cases among employees; and
• collaborate with the authorities to identify anyone who has been in close contact with a suspected workplace COVID-19 case in accordance with the National Testing, Traceability and Isolation Strategy.

Evaluation and update
As the authorities' prevention measures are updated regularly, employers must stay informed of any changes and coordinate changes in their established internal protocols and inform employees of said changes.

Penalties

Failure to adopt safety measures at work may result in various penalties for employers by the authorities, which can range from fines to the closure of the establishment. Similarly, employees who consider, for reasonable reasons, that continuing their duties may result in a serious or imminent risk to their lives, may interrupt the performance of their duties without their employer having the right to suspend the payment of their salary. Employees in such situations can even claim that their employer has breached the obligations set out in the employment contract or report that their fundamental rights have been violated by them having to risk their life or physical integrity in the workplace.

Inspecting compliance

The Employment Board and the Health Department may intervene and inspect a company's compliance with the safety and prevention measures. Such inspection will examine:

• the hygiene measures in the workplace and common environments;
• the collective signalling protection measures;
• the risk assessment and safe preventive work procedure; and
• the safe work procedure for confirmed COVID-19 cases or cases of close contacts.

Finally, the insurance administration bodies under Law 16,744 also play a role in the analysis, evaluation and management of risk in the workplace. Such bodies must provide technical assistance and advice to their member or affiliated companies for the adoption of hygiene and prevention measures in the workplace.

For further information on this topic please contact Ignacio Garcia or Camila Quiroz at Porzio Rios Garcia by telephone (+56 22 729 0600) or email (igarcia@porzio.cl or cquiroz@porzio.cl). The Porzio Rios Garcia website can be accessed at www.porzio.cl.