BUSINESS LAW &TAX
SEPTEMBER 2021 WWW.BUSINESSLIVE.CO.ZA
A REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN CORPORATE AND TAX LAW
Managing long Covid is to go on waters as yet uncharted
IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL
Employers have no obligation to provide extra sick •leave but fair treatment of staff needs to prevail Pareen Rogers & Naa’ilah Abader ENSafrica
A
mong the challenges facing employers during the Covid-19 pandemic is the increasing prevalence of “long Covid”. Although not much is known about it yet, there are proactive measures employers can take to identify and manage long Covid in the workplace. At present, there is no official medical definition of long Covid. What we do know is some people experience Covid-19 symptoms for weeks or months after they have contracted it. Recent research has indicated that 10% to 30% of those individuals who have suffered from
acute Covid-19 will go on to suffer from long Covid. There are almost 200 different symptoms associated with long Covid that may affect an employee’s ability to perform their duties. To adequately deal with long Covid, employers will need to understand it and create appropriate levels of awareness of the condition in the workplace. Awareness campaigns utilising internal and possible external service
INFORMATIONSHARING SESSIONS WITH ALL EMPLOYEES AND GUIDELINE DOCUMENTS FOR MANAGERS ARE KEY
providers could provide a good basis. Some issues to consider in relation to accommodating employees who suffer from long Covid in the workplace: ● Long Covid does not place an obligation on employers to provide employees with any additional sick leave and neither does it alter the current legal position relating to ill health/incapacity processes. However, employers should review their sick leave and other applicable policies to ensure they cater for instances of long Covid, albeit in a general sense. A condition that differs from person to person can only be properly managed through flexible policies and procedures; ● Long Covid may also require from employers to carefully consider the rea-
/123RF — CITALLIANCE sonable accommodation of employees who have contracted the condition, particularly in the context of remote working where physical interaction with colleagues is limited and the workplace has become a nebulous concept. Employee wellness programmes will become increasingly important in this context; ● There may be instances of long Covid that persist for long periods of time and employers should therefore engage with their insurers or with any relevant pension/ provident fund to determine whether such cases may be considered a temporary or a permanent disability;
● From a legal perspective, it may be possible for certain instances of long Covid to be considered a disability for the purposes of the Employment Equity Act 1998 and the code of good practice on the employment of people with disabilities. This depends on whether the condition results in employees having a physical or mental impairment over the long term or that recurs and substantially limits their prospects of entry into, or advancement in, employment. Employers would then need to consider the reasonable accommodation of these employees and to ensure that these employees are not unfairly discrimi-
nated against; ● While each case may be different, and therefore need differing approaches to the condition, it is important for employers to put general processes in place to ensure that they act fairly and objectively and to avoid the risk of unfair discrimination
PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR EMPLOYERS
The difficulty with managing instances of long Covid is that employers and employees may be unaware of this condition and/or not know how to deal with it. In our view, information-sharing sessions CONTINUED ON PAGE 2