With the end of the postponed resumption period announced by local governments, enterprises will resume work one after another in accordance with the policy arrangements of local governments. However, due to the impact of the new coronavirus epidemic, governments at all levels have put forward requirements for flexible work methods and working hours, and enterprises will face flexible and complex employment patterns after resuming work. This article will briefly sort out the work injury determination of employees who return to work infected with new coronavirus pneumonia in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, in order to be able to throw bricks and stones.

1. Employees who can provide normal labor in the workplace according to the arrangement of the enterprise

For such employees, if they contract the new coronavirus pneumonia on the way to and from work or during working hours or in the workplace, is it a work-related injury?

Infected on the way to and from work

Article 14 of the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance stipulates the circumstances under which work-related injuries should be recognized, and item (6) stipulates that a person who is injured by a traffic accident or an urban rail transit, passenger ferry or train accident for which he or she is not primarily responsible on the way to and from work shall be recognized as a work-related injury. Contracting the new coronavirus pneumonia on the way to and from work is a disease, not a traffic accident or accident injury, so it is difficult to be recognized as a work-related injury.

Infection during work hours and in the workplace

Items (1) and (3) of Article 14 of the Regulations on Work-Related Injury Insurance stipulate that during working hours and in the workplace, those who are injured by accidents due to work reasons, as well as those who suffer accidental injuries such as violence due to the performance of work duties, shall be recognized as work-related injuries. For whether it is a "work reason" and "performance of work duties", the work-related injury determination department may judge according to the specific situation, but for ordinary employees who are not medical personnel, the work content and job responsibilities usually do not lead to infection with new coronavirus pneumonia; Moreover, infection with new coronavirus pneumonia is a disease, not an accident injury or accidental injury, so even if you contract new coronavirus pneumonia during working hours and in the workplace, it is difficult to be recognized as a work-related injury.

Article 14 (4) of the Regulations on Work-Related Injury Insurance stipulates that an occupational disease shall be recognized as a work-related injury. However, the novel coronavirus pneumonia has not yet been listed in the Classification and Catalogue of Occupational Diseases, and infection with the new coronavirus pneumonia does not constitute an occupational disease, so it is difficult to be recognized as a work-related injury in accordance with Article 14 (4) of the Work-related Injury Insurance Regulations.

However, there may be exceptions.

Article 15 (1) of the Regulations on Work-Related Injury Insurance stipulates that if a person dies of sudden illness during working hours or at work or dies within 48 hours after ineffective rescue, it shall be regarded as a work-related injury. Therefore, if you contract new coronavirus pneumonia at work and die suddenly or die within 48 hours after ineffective rescue, it may be recognized as a work-related injury.

In addition, according to the Notice of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Finance and the National Health Commission on the Protection of Medical Care and Related Staff Infected with Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Due to the Performance of Work Duties (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security Letter [2020] 11). ), in the prevention and treatment of new coronavirus pneumonia, medical and related staff who contract new coronavirus pneumonia or die due to infection with new coronavirus pneumonia due to the performance of their work duties shall be recognized as work-related injuries. Therefore, it is also possible that persons infected with new coronavirus pneumonia (such as temperature measurement personnel, infirmary personnel, etc.) who are responsible for prevention and treatment in enterprises are recognized as work-related injuries according to the notice.

Second, employees who can work remotely from home according to the company's arrangement

Telecommuting infections from home

According to Article 14 of the Regulations on Work-Related Injury Insurance, the circumstances in which work-related injuries are determined are mainly concentrated in traffic accidents on the way to and from work, injuries occurring in the course of work (including during work-related travel) and occupational diseases, and the three elements of "working hours, workplaces and reasons for work" should be met at the same time. If a business requires employees to work remotely from home, then home can be considered a "workplace", and telecommuting from home can be considered "while away from work". Whether an employee infected with the new coronavirus pneumonia while working remotely from home can be recognized as a work-related injury can be handled according to the "infection during working hours and in the workplace" above.

However, due to the fact that there are a large number of family factors influencing remote work from home compared with actually working at the workplace or during work travel, employees need to bear a higher burden of proof for whether it is working time, work reasons, and the inevitable causal relationship between work performance and being infected with new coronavirus pneumonia.

(This article is translated by software translator for reference only.)