Though Maltese Employers Are Being Urged To Allow Teleworking, There’s Nothing Stopping Them From Denying It
Malta finds itself in uncertain waters, with everything from schools to hairdressers to churches being shut down to avoid people congregating together and potentially spreading the COVID-19 coronavirus.
However, though fines have been dished out to shops and kiosks that open outside of government guidelines, and police now have the power to break up groups of more than three people, one of the most potentially dangerous breeding grounds – workplaces – has been left totally unchecked.
While many companies have rolled out precautions such as hand sanitizers in offices, many workers still feel that it is unsafe for them to be inside a closed room with countless others for long hours.
One office-worker who was told that they had to return to their office to continue working from there after weeks of working from home found that there was very little they could do legally to protect themselves from being potentially exposed to the coronavirus at work.
“An employer is not obliged to grant telework, and this is granted at the employer’s discretion. Any approval of telework may also be revised/changed by the employer when and if needed,” they were told by a DIER spokesperson when they enquired as to their rights.
Left with little other option, and afraid that they might catch a virus responsible for around 80,000 deaths as of publishing, workers now must decide between going to work in their office and feeling dread every time a colleague walks near them… or becoming unemployed.
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