As a preventive measure so that workers can perform their jobs using mechanisms to safeguard their health and lives during the health emergency, and to mitigate propagation of the coronavirus (COVID-19), on March 12, 2020, the Ministry of Labor issued Resolution 076-2020. The measure provides as follows: 
 
- Employers can implement a work-from-home system, consisting of providing services from outside the normal workplace, without affecting the labor relationship and without giving rise to grounds for contract termination. The work-from-home system would only change where the work is done, but not the rest of the obligations under the labor relationship.
 
- For cases where the pertinent authority orders isolation as a preventive measure, the worker will use the work-from-home system. It will be the employer’s obligation to register the work-from-home arrangement on the Ministry of Labor’s SUT platform, by editing the employee’s current registration.  
 
- Effectiveness of the work-from-home system may be terminated by agreement of the parties or due to termination of the health emergency situation. 
 
Additional recommendations
 
Notwithstanding implementation of the work-from-home system by employers, in those cases where the job cannot be performed by working from home the following recommendations may be applied:
 
1- Charge against vacation: For workers in quarantine or who cannot perform their jobs by working from home, the employer may charge the workers’ days of absence against their vacation days, upon agreement between the parties. 
 
2- Leave without pay: The days workers are in quarantine or cannot perform their jobs by working from home can be considered by the employer as unpaid leave, upon agreement between the parties.  
 
3- Making up work hours: Per article 60 of the Labor Code, in cases of force majeure or reasons beyond the employer’s control, the employer may suspend the workdays and have employees make up the time lost for up to three hours on the workdays subsequent to the event, paying the remuneration without an additional surcharge.
 
This publication contains information of general interest and is not and should not be construed as a legal opinion or advice on specific matters. If necessary, legal advice should be sought on matters of interest to you.