Moral & Partners news, updates and analysis | Page 1 of 1

As we stated in our publication dated 16 March 2020, the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic indicates that it is one of the most important projections on the employment relations between employer and employee. Under current circumstances; many employers have been carrying on or will carry on remote working (homeworking) in regard to their white-collar employees either for all of them or alternately until a further notice is made. The current status of the pandemic and the applicable solution methods particularly in the scope of employment relations in terms of the uncertainty of the pandemic’s spreading speed and the precautions taken by the government are examined in this publication.

1. The Solution Methods That Could Be Applied in Terms of Continuation of Employment Relation

Nowadays, witnessing the heavy effects of Covid-19 (Coronavirus), described as a ‘pandemic’ by the World Health Organization (WHO), on employee-employer relations, we share our evaluations regarding the issues put on the agenda by any employees and employers, here in this article in the form of frequently asked questions.

1. What sort of precautions can be taken in the workplace due to the pandemic?

Enterprises should determine the measures to be taken in the workplace and work areas, take decisions and implement them immediately such as providing and positioning disinfectants, following the hygiene rules and supplying masks through gathering the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) committees. Necessary precautions should to be taken in terms of hygiene and cleaning, by working with occupational safety specialists and workplace doctors.

The letter that was sent to all chambers of commerce by the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) on 1 April 2020, numbered 34221550-045.02-3392 referring to the letter of the Ministry of Trade (Ministry) dated 31 March 2020 (the Announcement) advises companies to preserve their equities during the COVID-19 pandemic. TOBB also made an advisory announcement regarding the need to limit the distribution of profits in order to prevent companies from falling into a state of capital loss and debt because of the outbreak. The Announcement recommends all companies, except state-owned enterprises, preserve their equities and in this regard, take the below principles into consideration for General Assembly meetings for the 2019 financial year that will be held this year.

How the Ministry recommends decisions to be taken on General Assembly meetings with regard to profit distribution?

Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19 (Coronavirus), has negatively affected business life in a very short period due to the precautionary measures taken in order to prevent its rapid spread, such as the ban on travelling, halt of production, quarantine practices, and national emergency resolutions, since its very first appearance in Wuhan, China. This epidemic, which has become a global threat, has been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be a ‘pandemic’ (geographic epidemic above regions and groups) as of 11 March 2020.

The emergency measures that have been taken regarding Coronavirus have massively affected ongoing business life on a daily basis. Considering the unexpected and fast-moving nature of the epidemic, force majeure clauses in contracts and force majeure approaches of states and judiciary authorities have become one of the focal points of business people, shareholders and other market players, especially in terms of possible delays or non-performance in commercial relations. On the other hand, issues such as disruptions in supply and distribution chains, closure of workplaces and harbours, disruptions at customs, labour shortage and a decrease in consumption are interpreted as the preview of a global crisis. While the effects of the epidemic and the severity of the measures have increased day by day, we deem it helpful to address the effects of this pandemic from a multifaceted legal perspective within this article.

The Coronavirus pandemic, also known as Covid-19 (Coronavirus), which has been declared a ‘pandemic’ by the World Health Organization (WHO) as of 11 March 2020 and spread rapidly in our country in a short time, prepares the ground for a global social and economic crisis that may arise in the next few months, in addition to having a global health crisis. For this reason, governments, institutions, organisations and companies have taken action to take all measures in all respects, primarily protecting the public and human health, and then economic measures. In line with the measures taken in relation to the pandemic, efforts are made to prevent the damage caused by quarantine practices, closure of workplaces, import and export restrictions, and a reduction in consumption, and to reduce the negative impact of current measures.

The historical decrease in the Baltic Dry Index which is one of the most important indicators of world trade indicates the contraction in world trade while the record decrease in Brent Oil prices points to a decrease in production and growth. The mentioned economic indicators show that the economic contraction caused by the Coronavirus pandemic has spread all over the world.

In order to prevent the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, also known as COVID-19 (Coronavirus), which has spread to the whole world, many precautions are being taken by governments, institutions and organisations. The precautions and measures taken in Turkey were examined in our previous article published on 23 March 2020 with the title ‘Precautions and Measures Taken against Covid-19 Pandemic’. As a continuation of our previous article, we hereby wish to mention the measures taken recently in light of the current developments.

I. MEASURES TAKEN BY LAW

‘The Law Amending Certain Laws numbered 7226’ (the Omnibus Bill) was published on the Official Gazette dated 26 March 2020 and numbered 31080. The measures taken to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak in our country have been enacted by the Omnibus Bill. In line with the measures taken in relation to the pandemic, regulations have been made on many issues such as the Ceasing of Proceedings, Conditions for Benefiting from the Short-Term Work Allowance, Compensation Time, and Lease Payments. You can reach the detailed content related to the Omnibus Bill from our article published on 27 March 2020 with the title ‘The Law Amending Certain Laws Numbered 7226 and Its Legal Reflections to Business Life’.