South America: Getting Back to Business in the COVID-19 Era
Businesses in South America should prepare back-to-work plans while also listening to guidance from health and government authorities as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continues.
Here's what you should know about reopening in certain areas.
Brazil
Content provided by Pinheiro Neto Advogados
Contact:
Fernando J. Prado Ferreira
Partner
+55 11 3247-8583
fpradoferreira@pn.com.br
Current national guidance or requirements regarding returning to work
Until the present moment, the Brazilian Ministry of Health (“MoH”) has not issued a national guidance regarding returning to the work. There are some guidance in few States and cities. In Brazil, States and cities have autonomy to locally regulate public health issues, which means that states and cities may regulate the quarantine measures and the returning of services and commercial activities.
Logistical limits regarding social distancing and size of meetings
Until the present moment, Brazilian health authorities had only issued sparse recommendations regarding social distancing. No official or specific guidance for workplaces or size of meetings had been issued. The MoH only recommended, as general prevention recommendations: (i) that individuals keep a minimum distance of 2 meters from anyone coughing or sneezing, (ii) avoidance of physical contact, including hugs, kisses and handshakes, (iii) use of nonprofessional facial masks, and (iii) that environments are kept clean and well ventilated.
Testing requirements (e.g. taking people’s temperatures) or recommendations including employee monitoring
Until the present moment, Brazilian health authorities had only issued sparse recommendations regarding testing requirements or monitoring for public in general. No official or specific guidance for workplaces and employees had been issued. According to the MoH and the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (“ANVISA”), testing requirements should not include random temperature measurement, as this action is currently considered ineffective and increases the risk of agglomerations. Monitoring should include the attention to the presence of any symptoms, which should lead to isolation. Other recommendations include voluntary home isolation for 7 days in case of international travel..
Cleaning recommendations or requirements
Until the present moment, Brazilian health authorities had not issued any cleaning recommendation or guidance for workplaces. General recommendations for the general public include: (i) constant self-hygiene, with water and soap or 70% alcoholic preparation, (ii) individual usage of personal items, (iii) constant disinfection of objects and surfaces with sanitizers (as ordinary disinfectants, diluted bleach or bleach solution) or regular soap.
Compensation or remuneration issues
Until the present moment, Brazilian Government has not yet issued specific labour and employment measures related to guidance or requirements regarding returning to work. However, in view of the COVID situation, Brazilian Government issued measures that could be adopted by companies and that will certainly impact the return to work. These measures authorize suspension of employment agreements and salary/workday reduction (for up to 90 or 60 days, respectively) and protection against termination for the same time length these measures last counting from expiration thereof. Before getting back to business, companies are advised to bear in mind the following aspects:
- Employees right to job protection in the abovementioned terms;
- Anticipated individual or collective vacations taken during quarantine;
- Special agreements regarding working hours and compensation taken during quarantine;
- Variable compensation based on financial criteria, company’s profits or revenue;
- Company’s performance or promotion criteria might have to be adjusted to the post-quarantine scenario; and
- When negotiating a new profit sharing plan or collective bargaining agreement with the union, discussions may take into consideration different standards than those customarily used.
