A Holiday That Exposes you to the Corona Virus can Cost you Your job
If finance sector workers go on holiday to countries on the list published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of countries it advises against visiting, and come home infected by the corona virus, they risk losing their job. That’s the conclusion reached at a Union Meeting between Finanssektorens Arbejdsgiverforening (FA) and Finansforbundet (Financial Services Union Denmark).
The latest travel guidelines published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advise against holidays taken in countries such as the USA, Turkey, Romania, Portugal and the UK, due to the corona situation there. And this is advice finance sector workers ought to respect, according to the FA and Finansforbundet.
The two parties at the meeting agreed that a business can use all the common sanctions under employment law – from a reprimand to wage deduction and even dismissal – if an employee who fails to follow the travel guidelines comes home infected with the corona virus from a country to which unnecessary travel is not advisable.
Sanctions designed to terminate employment can, however, only be used when there are exceptional circumstances, according to the minutes from the Union Meeting.
“It’s important that businesses inform their employees in advance of their policies on certain situations under which an employee travels to one of the countries on the ministry’s list. And they should also refer to the possible sanctions that can result from doing so,” says Steven Vallik, Senior Negotiator at Finansforbundet.
Can travel to Sweden
Sweden is on the ministry’s list, except the region of Västerbotten up north. But it is permitted to take a holiday in remote locations in Sweden, according to the travel advice.
“If you stay in your own cottage or the like, you can travel to areas in Sweden where we would otherwise advise against unnecessary travel. If you go to Västerbotten, transit through the country or stay at your own cottage or the like, you should exercise extra caution to minimise the risk of being infected by the corona virus,” is the ministry’s advice for Sweden.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark: travel advice for Sweden
Danish residents are advised to stay at home for 14 days when they come home from Sweden, because Sweden does not fulfil the criteria for low infection rates. But if you come home from Västerbotten or a stay at your own cottage or the like, you are no longer advised to stay at home for 14 days.
The Parties agree that the situation in which an employer can ask where an employee goes in their own time is no permanent expansion of the employer’s prerogative, as it is solely due to the corona pandemic.
Reopening agreement extended to 31 August
FA and Finansforbundet have extended the reopening agreement due to expire on 30 June, to 31 August. The agreement provided businesses and employees with extra flexibility for the gradual and controlled reopening of the finance sector.