If your own apartment was flooded or the house became uninhabitable after a flood, the job is of secondary importance.
But what about legally?
What applies to workers affected by the flood?
The situation in the flood areas in Germany is easing.
But many of those affected are faced with the ruins of their livelihoods.
Of course, the job is of secondary importance between clean-up work and livelihood worries.
Are workers who have been victims of the floods allowed to stay away from work *?
Flood damage: Employees must be paid leave
Yes, at least for the time being
.
As Nathalie Oberthür, specialist lawyer for labor law from Cologne explains, affected employees must be paid leave for the first few days if they are prevented from working due to the flood damage.
This is regulated in Section 616 of the German Civil Code (BGB).
Nathalie Oberthür
Nathalie Oberthür is chair of the labor law committee of the German Bar Association (DAV).
However, this regulation
only applies for a short period of around five days
.
"If the work is objectively impossible for a long time, the employee can continue to stay away from work, but no longer receives any remuneration," says the labor law expert.
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In the event of operational damage: more money for employees
If the
employer is affected
because the company cannot continue to operate due to the flood damage, employees retain their right to remuneration, according to Oberthür, even if they cannot work.
"
Short-time work
can alleviate the problem for both sides."
In addition, many are more indirectly affected by the consequences of the flood, for example because rail traffic is not yet unrestricted everywhere or because one's own car was damaged.
This can be a challenge on the way to work.
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Alternative for the driveway
According to Oberthür, the following applies here: If employees are surprised by the situation, a
delay is not a breach of duty
and can therefore not be sanctioned.
Employees do not have to fear a warning or even dismissal.
The situation is different, however, if the damage is known and the employee can adjust to it.
"Then he has to look for alternatives for the route, if they are available," says the specialist lawyer.
In both cases, however, there is no entitlement to remuneration for the delay.
(dpa / ans) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
.
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