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Cold season and corona: can I go to work with a cold now? 

2020-12-16T13:49:58.308Z


A cold, cough or a scratchy throat: many employees go to the office with mild symptoms of a cold. But is that still allowed during the corona pandemic?


A cold, cough or a scratchy throat: many employees go to the office with mild symptoms of a cold.

But is that still allowed during the corona pandemic?

Before the corona virus kept the world in check, many employees

dragged

themselves

to the office despite runny noses

.

This was often secretly requested by bosses, after all, the work has to be done.

But now the situation is different.

Any cold, cough or sore throat can indicate a Covid-19 infection *.

Once an employee falls ill,

the coronavirus can spread like wildfire throughout the company

.

Illness-related failures and quarantine measures can paralyze the entire company or at least restrict operations.

Is it legal under labor law to go to work with mild cold symptoms?

Also read:

Working despite sick leave: Is it really allowed?

Can I go to work with a mild cold?

"Employees with symptoms of a respiratory illness such as fever, cough and shortness of breath should definitely stay away from the workplace

as long as the symptoms have not been clarified by a doctor,

" warns Alexander Greth of the law firm Simmons & Simmons.

"The principle of never going to work sick is particularly important now."

In

an interview with

Focus.de

, the labor law

expert

advises those

who only

experience mild symptoms

should agree

with the employer

whether they should appear at the workplace

.

The employer then decides whether the employee is allowed to come to the workplace or should work in the home office, depending on the possibilities in the company and the infection protection measures taken.

Anyone who works in an open-plan office is more likely to be sent to the home office than someone who sits in an individual office and has little contact with their colleagues.

Also read:

Always sick during the cold season: Can the boss fire me because of that?

Does the employer have to be informed about symptoms of illness?

In principle, employees are not responsible to the employer for any symptoms of illness.

Employees do not have to expect any consequences under labor law here either if they infect a colleague with a cold or flu.

In the case of

notifiable diseases such as a Covid 19 infection

, however, it looks different.

The employee must inform the employer if Covid-19 has been detected on him so that the company must take appropriate protective measures for his colleagues and possibly send them to quarantine.

Even if the employee has only

recently had contact with a person who has been found to have a corona infection

or who at least has a reasonable suspicion, he must inform his boss.

Also interesting:

Corona: What happens to my vacation days if I have to be quarantined during my vacation?

What happens if I hide my Covid-19 infection?

If an employee fails to report his Covid 19 illness to the company, the boss can

warn him

.

"Further sanctions such as 

termination of

 the employment relationship or claims for damages are conceivable in exceptional cases, if an employee deliberately withholds an infection and

tries to infect colleagues,

"

says

the lawyer.

If you have cold symptoms, stay at home

Even if you only suffer from a slight runny nose or sore throat: In the pandemic, employees should rather stay at home and work from home as far as possible.

The Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) also advises on its website: “

Stay at home

if you have symptoms that could indicate an infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

These include in particular cough, high temperature or fever, shortness of breath, loss of the sense of smell / taste, runny nose, sore throat, headache and body aches or general weakness.

Have such symptoms checked by a doctor. "

Markus Beier, Chairman of the Bavarian Association of General Practitioners, also appeals to Bayern 2-radioWelt: “I cannot recommend this heroism of working sick at all.

Even if Covid 19 infections are not passed on,

the general infection rate is fueled

.

That is absolutely not necessary. ”He advises that even mild cold symptoms such as runny nose and sore throat should at least be clarified by the family doctor over the phone.

(as) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen central editorial network.

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Source: merkur

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