Around 1 October 2020, the Department of Employment and Labour issued a consolidated Direction on Occupational Health and Safety Measures in Certain Workplaces (“the updated Directive”). The updated Directive replaced the Direction on Occupational Health and Safety Measures in Certain Workplaces which was issued on 4 June 2020 (“the previous Directive”).
The updated Directive places emphasis on the collation and analysis of workplace data to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus (“the virus”). Employers are required to implement risk assessment plans to take proactive measures to mitigate the spread of the virus.
It also sets out additional duties and responsibilities for employers. Some of the additional duties and responsibilities for employers which are contained in the updated Directive are briefly set out below:
Section 3(2) - requires an employer to include in their plan a procedure to resolve any issue that may arise from an employee exercising their right to refuse to work in circumstances contemplated in section 14(1) which states provides that an employee may refuse to work, if circumstances arise which, with reasonable justification, appear to the employee to pose an imminent and serious risk of exposure to the virus.
Section 4(1)(a) - requires an employer who employs more than 50 employees to submit a record of its risk assessment, together with a written policy concerning the protection of the health and safety of its employees. In terms of the previous Direction, this obligation applied to employers who employed more than 500 employees. This submission must be made by employers on or before 21 October 2020 in terms of the updated Directive;
The obligation to provide screening and testing data which previously only applied to employers employing more than 500 employees, now applies to all employers with more than 50 employees. Employers must submit data to the National Institute of Occupational Health (“NIOH”) regarding, inter alia, each employee’s vulnerability status for serious outcomes of a Covid-19 infection, details of the Covid-19 screening of employees who are symptomatic, details of employees who tested positive for Covid-19 and details of post-infection outcomes of those employees who tested positive which will include a return to work assessment outcome;
All positive cases must be reported to the NIOH;
Employers must inform the Compensation Commissioner (in accordance with the Directive on Compensation for Workplace - acquired Covid-19) if an employee contracted the virus at work;
Mandatory isolation and self-quarantine periods have been reduced to 10 days; and
Employees must be informed by their employers of the disclosure of any of their personal information contemplated in the updated Directive. Employers must be mindful of the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act, Act No 4. of 2013 (“POPI”).
