Many employees are worried about being infected with corona at work.
But what should you do in an emergency if a colleague tests positive?
No home office despite
Corona
: Not all people can do their
work
at home.
Many workers are afraid of contracting
the
coronavirus
at
work
.
How to behave if a colleague
tests
positive for
Corona
at
work
.
Frankfurt - The
corona virus
has a firm grip on people's everyday lives.
Only in the workplace does the situation remain largely unchanged.
For many people, the
daily commute to
work
is the only situation in which they still leave their own four walls.
But what should be done if there is a risk of infection with
Corona
lurking there?
Many employees would rather not go to work at all because of the risk of infection.
Because: What if a work colleague tested positive?
Questions that also played a key role among those affected by a case in Hofheim am Taunus * that became known at the end of 2020.
There, an employee of a company tested positive for
Corona
.
A scenario on the
work
before in many places people fear.
Corona at work - the employer must take action
One thing is clear: First of all, it applies to employees not to panic and to keep a cool head when dealing with a specific situation
Corona suspected case or even a confirmed infection with the
coronavirus
becomes known
at
work
. Above all, it is important that the applicable hygiene and distance regulations are observed and strictly adhered to. The employer must take action and fulfill his duty of care and protection in order to prevent possible infection with
Corona
through further education and protective measures.
This means that the employer
must send home
the person who has a
corona infection
or who is specifically suspected of having been
infected
with
corona
.
This also applies to all employees who had
direct contact with this colleague
during their
work
.
This measure will be maintained until it has been finally clarified whether there is actually a corona infection.
Protection against corona at work: Sensitivity when dealing with symptoms is required
From a purely legal point of view, however, employers and works councils do not have the option of obliging their colleagues suspected of corona to visit a doctor.
However, the workers from contractual obligations in violation if it despite symptoms of infection with the
coronavirus
, to the point
work
appears.
He should immediately put himself under medical care and not hide the symptoms out of a possibly false sense of duty and continue working.
Sensitivity in dealing with signs that indicate
Corona
is the top priority in order to protect yourself and your colleagues.
Category 1 (high risk of infection) |
Category 2 (low risk of infection) |
---|---|
Contact the person concerned for at least 15 minutes |
Contact with the affected person for less than 15 minutes |
No protection from wearing mouth and nose protection |
Proper wearing of mouth and nose protection |
More than 30 minutes in a room with a high aerosol concentration |
Less than 30 minutes in the room with enriched aerosols |
Corona at work: Which group is most at risk?
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) distinguishes between two categories of contact persons.
Category 2 includes all people who only had brief, fleeting contact with the colleague concerned.
This means that the contact did not last longer than 15 minutes and the mouth and nose cover according to Eurostandards was worn properly.
The risk of
becoming infected
with
corona
is therefore low in this group.
Category 1 therefore includes all employees who have had at least 15 minutes of uninterrupted contact with the
person infected
with
corona
without protection by a mouth and nose mask
and were therefore exposed to a higher risk of infection.
This group also includes people who have been in a room with a high concentration of infectious aerosols for at least 30 minutes.
Fear of Corona at work: Employees cannot quarantine themselves
The
health department will
ultimately decide
on any precautionary measures with regard to the further spread of the
coronavirus
.
If a 14-day domestic
quarantine is
ordered, this must be observed. If this order is not observed, the quarantine can even be enforced in court.
Whether the employees of entire departments or even the entire company who had no contact with the
person infected
with
Corona
are sent home
from
work
is at the employer's discretion. Some workers are afraid of
being infected
with the
coronavirus
at
work
, but they cannot simply
quarantine
themselves
as they are still contractually obliged to go
about
their work.
If employees have concerns about going to the office *, they only have the option of asking their supervisor to
do
their
work
in the home office.
If that is not possible either, the only option is to take vacation days to minimize the risk of a
corona infection
.
+
Due to the corona pandemic, jobs in one company are blocked.
© Gaetan Bally / dpa
Work and Corona: How long will the money be paid during the quarantine?
Should it happen that an employer has to take action after a confirmed
corona infection of
an employee and send parts of his workforce home, the employees do not have to worry about their salary. Everyone who can do their
work in the home office
even during the
quarantine
, fulfill their contractual work obligation and therefore receive their regular salary without restriction.
If this is not the case, the employee is prohibited from working or is on sick leave. The payment of wages continues for six weeks. If the
quarantine
lasts longer than six weeks
due to
Corona
, the corresponding health insurance company becomes active, as the sickness benefit claim takes effect from this point in time. (Yannick Wenig)
* fnp.de and hna.de are offered by IPPEN.MEDIA.