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Working from home: employers are obliged
Photo: Jens Kalaene / dpa
The withdrawal from the workplace to the home office should become a central component in the fight against the corona pandemic.
Companies are therefore obliged to offer their employees work from the home office whenever possible.
Only if "compelling operational reasons contradict" can be waived, according to the resolution of the federal government on the SARS-CoV-2 occupational health and safety ordinance, which is available to SPIEGEL.
The competent authorities can request information and documents for control purposes.
If the order to work from home is not implemented within a set deadline, "the competent authority can prohibit the work affected by the order," says the resolution.
In the opinion of Economics Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU), controls or sanctions for compliance with the home office regulations will be needed “only very rarely”.
"We do not want a bureaucratic structure, we want to achieve that it functions flexibly in the interests of the companies and employees," he says in the ARD "Morgenmagazin".
There should be as few people as possible in local public transport or on the streets.
"We have to reduce social contacts," says Altmaier.
"We want as little government regulation as possible."
While the offer of home office is mandatory for employers, employees should voluntarily accept the offer as far as they can.
"As is customary in occupational health and safety law, there is no subjective right of action for employees."
To protect employees who cannot go from home, the existing Corona occupational health and safety rules are being tightened further:
If rooms are used by several people, such as large offices, at least ten square meters of space must be available per person;
If more than ten employees work in a company, they must be divided into as small, permanent work groups as possible;
Operational meetings such as discussions should be kept to a minimum.
In addition, employers must at least provide employees with medical face masks.
The protective measures already in place remain in force.
These include a minimum distance of 1.5 meters at the workplace or wearing mouth and nose protection where this is not possible or regular ventilation must be guaranteed.
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