Page 282 - วารสารกฎหมาย ศาลอุทธรณ์คดีชํานัญพิเศษ

วารสารกฎหมาย ศาลอุทธรณ์คดีชำานัญพิเศษ

confirmed to be infected. The consequences of this distinction may have a very different
impact on the working conditions and possible reduction of pay of the employees.

(a) An employee is suspected to be infected with COVID-19

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the government requests that anyone who
believes that he/she may be infected to contact the nearest health center or other qualified

institution. The employer should advice the employee suspected of infection from
coming to the office, and where the employee is unable to work remotely, the employer
may request that the employee take a leave of absence. In situations where a diagnosis

has not been made, it is possible to clearly indicate to the employees that they stay at
home in order to prevent the spread of the infection. In such cases, the legal problem
of how to deal with wages arises. Where the employer is instructing the employee

to take a leave of absence, the employer needs to pay at least 60% of the suspected
employee’s salary during his/her leave of absence.

If an employee is declared fit for work but the employer nevertheless requests
the employee to take a leave of absence based on its own judgment and in light of its

obligations to provide a safe working environment, the order is considered to be due to
a cause attributable to the employer and the payment obligations would apply for the
furlough period. In that case, the employer will be able to take advantage of the

government subsidy system. 6

(b) An employee is infected with COVID-19

If the employee tests positive for COVID-19, the employer must order him/her
to stay home. If the employee cannot carry out his/her duties due to illness, he/she needs

to apply for sick leave according to the employer’s work rules, with the effect that salary
payment during the leave period shall be in accordance with the employment rules.
In general, there is no statutory obligation to pay salary for sick leave. If the employee

is confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 and the local authorities order the infected
employee not to work, the employer may make no payment during such employee’s

6 Such as EAS.

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