From smart work to corporate protocols, here’s what changes (and what doesn’t) with the spread of the emergency

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Any extension, short or long, of the state of emergency has an immediate impact on smart work, and in particular on the current simplified regulation introduced by the Conte government, in force until mid-October, in repeal of Law 81 of 2017, dictated precisely by the need to prevent possible infections in the company. If the emergency continues, in fact, the “read” rules that have regulated the institute so far also continue. The extension of the emergency also has an impact on corporate security protocols, which are still in force and, in any case, it will be necessary to update them if, with the extension, stricter provisions are introduced. The continuation or not of the emergency, for now, would not have effect on the Cig and the ban on dismissal, already regulated, although with exceptions and peculiarities, until the end of the year.

Agile “lean” work

But let’s proceed in order. Establishing a direct link between the Covid-19 alarm and the “simpler” intelligent operation have been all the emergency measures put in place so far, and in particular the relaunch decree, which, in Article 90, has precisely provided that the Agile work can be applied by private employers to any subordinate employment relationship even in the absence of individual agreements (i.e. using the simplified procedure currently in use), and this until the end of the state of emergency (then set at 31 of July 2020) and, in any case, no later than December 31, 2020. The issue is sensitive; and it is no coincidence that it has recently been the subject of a first face-to-face meeting between the Minister of Labor, Nunzia Catalfo, and the social partners. In the absence of interventions, Law 81 re-enters into force as of October 16, with the need, among other things, of entering into individual agreements to activate agile work. The first estimates point to 4 million workers who will remain in smart working at least until the end of the year (during the peak of the coronavirus, peaks of 6-8 million “remote” workers were reached).

“The possible extension of the state of emergency and the simplified rules for agile work is acceptable – explained Arturo Maresca, professor of labor law at La Sapienza University of Rome -. As of October 16, it is unthinkable to return to the old rules or introduce new ones, given the increasing number of infections. Simplified agile work, in recent months, has helped prevent the spread of the epidemic, ensuring worker safety.

Corporate anti-contagion protocols

The state of epidemiological emergency is also the prerequisite of the protocols that dictate the norms of prevention of contagion in the workplace, whose compliance, according to current legislation, exempts the employer from responsibility. Since the national protocol of last April, in fact, it has been the government that has dictated, thus linking them to the health emergency, the necessary measures for the prevention of the risk of contagion according to the (currently) known science. It has been repeatedly clarified that the burden of setting safety distances greater than those defined by the Legislator or, on the other hand, of identifying measures other than those provided, cannot be delegated to the employer. Therefore, companies have adapted, from the quantification of the percentage of concurrent presences allowed in the company buildings, to the elaboration of the appropriate entry procedures regarding the places, to the use of an agile “lean” work, which represents an organizational measure to be used in key security.