Corona Safety

The corona plague has many effects on the world of work, and also on many aspects of occupational safety. These aspects have direct implications both for the safety of employees and those staying in the workplace, and for the legal exposure of the company and its managers. A number of implications (non-exhaustive list) of work under the corona epidemic are given below:

Influence on the human factor - what is the effect of activity in full or in part with a mask on the face on how the human factor makes decisions, to what extent a constant heat and sweat in the facial area due to the mask can disrupt judgment, and what are the measures, if any , a reasonable holder in the workplace should take to meet his duty of care in this regard?

One of the duties imposed on those engaged in the days of Corona is the daily measurement of the body temperatures of everyone who enters the factory gate and records the coming and going. In this context, there are questions about the accuracy of the devices, how they are calibrated, the reliability and the degree of responsibility of the place holder for the temperature measuring device and especially - in case a device that does not meet proper standards shows a wrong outcome. The question arises from the field of privacy protection, can such records be considered a "database" as defined in the Privacy Protection Law, and is it permissible and for what length of time, is the place holder required to keep such records?

Another aspect of safety is the absence of people from work due to the obligation of isolation. In such circumstances, workers will often be required to perform work for which they are unskilled, and even work for which they have not been trained. Another aspect of the shortage due to isolation is the increasing use, due to the distress of people in the work of a single person. This work significantly increases the level of risk, and taking protective measures, including technological measures, can significantly reduce the exposure of the occupier.

Another thing is the question of tutorials. On the one hand, the rules of the "Purple Standard" and the rules of social distance do not make it possible to conduct the trainings with the required frequency and scope. On the other hand, it is not always possible, both financially and in terms of the availability of classroom instructors to conduct the tutorials as usual. Therefore, the need for online training arises and rules are required to establish the performance of these training.

There is unavailability of many professionals outside the factory - instructors, consultants, survey editors and contractor workers. This unavailability should be taken care in the decision process.

Another aspect of a massive absence of employees or their division into capsule work is a possible injury to the emergency staff - the number of staff available, and the skill of alternate staff.

All the things mentioned above and many other things have legal consequences. Thus, for example, amending the safety management plan and the Plant File in light of the new reality is a necessity and an obligation imposed on the employer. If necessary, the circumstances of the cases will be examined in a magnifying glass by the court to determine - has the place holder fulfilled his duty of care and is acting reasonably?

There is no need to deal with such questions after a case has happened - in order to be on the safe side in this place as well, our lawyers will be able to assist you with preliminary preventive legal advice, routine support and representation after a safety incident.