Does quarantine or isolation at home allow for “home office” or not?

Many employers and employees have had doubts whether an employee subject to quarantine or isolation at home (due to COVID-19) can work.

The doubts have been clarified by the legislator in the act.

In recent days, two acts that added new regulations (Articles 4h and 4ha) to the Act on special solutions connected with preventing, counteracting and fighting COVID-19, other communicable diseases and crises caused by such diseases have come into force.

In accordance with those amendments, during the period of the state of epidemic threat or the state of epidemic, employees and other persons employed by the company who are subject to obligatory quarantine or obligatory isolation at home may, with the employer’s consent, perform work set out in their contract on a remote basis and be remunerated for such work.

Therefore, work during the quarantine or isolation at home is possible provided that both the employer and employee accept that.

The remote work performed during the quarantine or isolation at home is governed by Art. 3.3 to 3.8, which provide for terms and conditions of remote work performed at the employer’s request.

If the employee performs remote work during the quarantine or isolation at home and receives remuneration for such work from the employer, the employee will not be entitled to any pay for the period of incapacity for work, as set forth in Art. 92 of the Labour Code.

Marta Strzecha-Bociąga, Attorney-at-law