HR Legal Possibilties

If the company can continue working, it remains course important to observe preventive measures. One of the most important measure is teleworking or working from home, which needs to be the default principle if possible. In this respect, it is important to make clear agreements, preferably in a homework policy, about the working hours during which the employee must be available, the rules related to control measures, possible reimbursement of home office expenses, technical support from the employer, etc.

Working from home can be a major challenge, for example when the employee has young children to look after. Flexible working hours can be a possible solution, during which the employee can choose the beginning and end hour or the working day, hereby still respecting the average working time during a certain reference period. This system must be introduced via the working regulations document.

Further, the employees can request different types of leave. As a company you can mutually agree upon taking legal holidays or unpaid leave. Leave for imperative reasons (any unforeseeable event requiring your urgent and indispensable intervention of the employee), for example if a family member gets ill or is hospitalized, can be a possibility as well. Another solution in this specific circumstances, can be the request for fulltime or part-time, time credit or parental leave.

Concluding a temporary part-time employment agreement with the employee is an alternative as well. In this way, the employee can temporarily work less and the employer temporarily has to pay less wages. However, an agreement between both parties is crucial here.