To guarantee workers’ job stability the Ministry of Labor has issued Ministerial Resolution MDT-2020-077 on emergency workday reduction, modification or suspension during the health emergency declared due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Workday reduction
For a period not exceeding six months, and renewable once for an additional six months, employers may reduce working hours as established in article 47.1 of the Labor Code, i.e., not less than thirty working hours per week.
Emergency workday modification
Employers may require employees to work on Saturdays and Sundays, in accordance with article 52 of the Labor Code, with a view to safeguarding the economic activity or production of the employer. Employers cannot require work in excess of the maximum eight-hour workday permitted by the Labor Code. In these cases, employers will be required to pay only remuneration for the additional hours worked, without a surcharge for overtime.
Emergency workday suspension
For work activities where working from home and/or emergency reduction or modification of the workday cannot be implemented, employers may decide on emergency suspension of the workday without this meaning termination of the employment relationship.
In these cases, once the health emergency is declared ended, all the rights and obligations in effect prior to suspension will be reinstated. Employers must establish how and when workdays will be made up, which may be for up to three hours per day following reactivation of economic activity. Additionally, work can be made up on Saturdays, for up to four hours per day.
It shall be the workers’ obligation to make up time not worked due to suspension. If workers refuse to make up time not worked they will not collect the remuneration for such days or, if remuneration has already been collected, it will have to be reimbursed to the employer.
Filing emergency workday reduction, modification or suspension
The Ministry of Labor shall implement a form on its SUT (Unified Labor System) platform, which must obligatorily be filled in and filed by the employer on the same platform if the employer implements workday reduction, modification or suspension. The Regional Labor and Public Service Office (Dirección Regional del Trabajo y Servicio Público) will issue an electronic authorization via the SUT platform.
The employer must notify its workers, by any means, regarding the workday reduction, modification or suspension, and the estimated duration of the measure.
Termination of emergency workday reduction, modification or suspension
The Ministry of Labor has established that emergency workday mechanisms shall be terminated upon agreement by the parties or termination of the health emergency declaration.