Coronavirus - Legal Implications: Employment

[This article is part of a guide by Morais Leitão dedicated to the legal implications of the - at the time - new coronavirus.]

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected not only our way of living, but also of working. There is no question over the enormous impact it has had on work relations, requiring adequate measures and responses to be found and rapid adjustment by employers and employees.

The CT and related employment and social security legislation have not been able, single‑handedly or as quickly as needed, to respond to all the requirements of a national state of emergency. It was considered necessary for the Government to adopt exceptional measures, which took the form of successive legislative measures, not always easy to interpret, but which need to be applied.

The future is uncertain, but it is the legislator’s intention to ensure that work relations and the corporate economic system are maintained, by successively being introduced temporary and exceptional measures, by means of legislative or administrative approaches, to address the current situation and to give employers and employees the means to adjust work relations for the purposes of the emergency measures.

Topics covered:

• Employer Obligation on OSH
• Teleworking
• Effects on Scheduling Holidays
• Business Crisis Resulting from the Current Epidemiological Outbreak when there is s Complete Stoppage of Business/Establishment Activity or Fall in Turnover
• Business Crisis for Market, Structural or Technological Reasons, Disasters or other events that seriously affect the company's business: Lay-Off Under The CT
• Temporary Closure of the Company/Establishment or Temporary Reduction in activity due to force majeure or employer's decision (Apart from situations of business crisis) - Article 309 of the CT
• Employee's Health Status
• Caring for Third Parties
• Special Case of "Essencial Services" Workers
• Independent Workers ("Green Receipts")
• Social Security Contributions and Payments

For more information, please download the document below.