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President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the country’s shutdown will move to alert level 1 starting at midnight on Sunday (September 20).
According to lockdown regulations, all businesses can operate under Alert Level 1, except those listed in specific economic exclusions.
While these regulations still state that people who can work from home must do so, can companies force employees to return to the office, even if they are fully capable of working from home?
Aadil Patel, director and national head of Labor Practice at the law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, says the answer lies in existing coronavirus legislation that has been published by the government.
Refers to regulations issued under the Disaster Management Act, which state that companies with more than 100 employees, working together in a group on the same floor space, must make provisions to minimize the number of employees at a time dice.
“Despite the announcement of a move to the level 1 lockdown, South Africa is still in a national state of disaster, as per cabinet approval to extend through October 15, 2020,” said Patel.
“Existing regulations still state that employees who can work from home must do so, and companies must comply with all regulations related to work and workspaces.”
Workers at risk
The Minister of Employment and Labor, Thulas Nxesi, issued a directive in June, outlining occupational safety and health measures for the reopening of workplaces in South Africa.
According to the law firm Werksmans Attorneys, one of the key approaches of the directives relates to “vulnerable employees.”
“A vulnerable employee is definite as an employee with known or disclosed health problems or comorbidities or any other condition that may put the employee at a higher risk of complications or death than other employees if infected with Covid-19 or employees over 60 years of age who are at higher risk of complications or death if infected, ”said Werksmans.
“Every employer is obliged to take a series of administrative measures that include, among others, taking special measures to mitigate the risk of Covid-19 for vulnerable employees.”
Based on available information and clinical experience, older adults and people of any age who have impaired function of certain organs (heart, lung, kidneys) or a depressed immune system are at increased risk of serious complications and serious diseases due to Covid-19, the state guidelines.
The main categories include:
- A person who is 60 years of age or older;
- A person who has one or more of the commonly found underlying chronic medical conditions (of any age), especially if they are not well controlled. These include chronic lung disease, diabetes, hypertension, and serious heart conditions;
- A person with severe obesity – body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more;
- Someone who is immunosuppressed as a result of cancer treatment, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS;
- Someone who is more than 28 weeks pregnant and especially if they have one or more of the above comorbidities.
Read: This is the average net salary in South Africa right now
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