COVID-19: Know your Duties and Rights.

COVID-19 and its impact on the Economy: The novel coronavirus, that emerged in the city of Wuhan, China, last year and has since caused severe loss to humanity and been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The virus has spread to more than 165 other countries is the product of natural evolution, according to the journal Nature Medicine. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause illnesses ranging widely in severity. The first known severe illness caused by a coronavirus emerged in the year 2003 in China with the name Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic. The other important outbreak of severe illness began in the year 2012 in Saudi Arabia with the name of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The spread of the coronavirus is most importantly a public health emergency, but it’s also a significant economic threat. The COVID-19 shock will cause a recession in some countries and collectively depress the growth of this year to below 2.5%. Experts are in view of a possible “Minsky Moment” (i.e. sudden, major collapse of asset values which marks the end of the growth phase of a cycle in business activity) looking at the recessionary trend. There might be $2 trillion shortfalls in global income with a $US220 billion hit to developing countries (excluding China). Growth decelerations between 0.7% and 0.9% are likely to occur in countries such as Canada, Mexico, and the Central American region, in the Americas. Let’s talk about your rights during COVID-19.

(i) Civil Rights: The government should treat you or your employees & staff fairly despite the ongoing any pandemic outbreak. However, the Government has all the right to impose reasonable restrictions (that may include complete lock-down of your organization or city or country) on your freedom of expression on the ground of public health as prescribed in Article 19 (2) of the Constitution of India. You’re traveling rights may be restricted reasonably (see all the travel advisory issued by the Government of India here https://incredibleindia.org/content/incredible-india-v2/en/covid-19-travel-advisory.html) on the executive order of the Government. You may get insurance cover (depending on the travel Insurance Policy you have) if you miss your flight because of quarantine. In this crisis time, it is better to limit your travel to essential travel only. Any violation of such restrictions may cause you to be prosecuted under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, section 3 of Epidemic Act, 1897 and section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

(ii) Paid Sick Leave: Law requires most employers to provide employees with paid sick leave, which allows employees, workers and staff to take paid leave from work due to any illness. Paid leaves for sick employees to stay home helps reduce the spread of any viruses, studies show. Eventually, it will help to reduce the rate of spread of the COVID-19 too. Employers should encourage to provide paid sick leave and help to contain the spread of viruses. For employers, it is time to give back to society.

(iii) Work from Home: It’s not just about the employee’s fear to fall sick, BUT they are afraid of being a vector for the COVID-19,” whether it’s bringing an infection home from outside or vice-versa. There is no specific law in India that states right to work from home or from any other location to employees, or the right to ask employees to work from home. However, it won’t hurt you to ask for it, especially when there is unprecedented nature of the pandemic landscape. As an employer, if you hired people for jobs and it is a time to bestow your trust in them to the work done despite their location. We are living in the age of Industry 4.0 that allows us to work from anywhere. Now, the Government must venture to legislate a law with respect to the provision of rights to employees to work from home, where the physical presence of employees not required in the office (e.g. IT Sector, Professional Services, etc.) in the crisis situation.

(iv) Protect yourself and your business from scams and fraud: Scammers may do fraudulent transactions with you as a consumer by selling their products that are incapable of preventing the disease and viruses. Scammers spreading misinformation through social media. You may be caught by scammers that pretend to solicit donations to help coronavirus victims, but instead of helping the coronavirus victims those scammers may steal your money and information of personal nature.

Prevent the Spread of Viruses: The best way to prevent the coronavirus is to avoid exposure to the virus and following tips must be followed to prevent the spread of germs: (i) wash hands with soap and water for at least 25 seconds multiple times a day; (ii) An alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used if soap and water are not available; (iii) avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with uncleansed hands; (iv) avoid close contact with people who are sick and maintain social distancing (i.e. 6 foot); (v) Stay at home when feeling sick; (vi) cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash; and (vii) Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Remember the golden rule that “prevention is better than cure”.