Rights activists demand change to employees’ COVID sick leave protocol

AMMAN — Labour rights activists demand that the government issue a new defence order that protects the rights of COVID-19 patients and does not require employees to use paid sick leave to cover their absences.

The Ministry of Labour issued a statement saying that if a worker has used all of their given annual leaves and sick leaves and tested positive for COVID-19, the employer has the right to deduct their days absent from work from their monthly salary, Mohammah Zyoud, Ministry of Labour spokesperson, told The Jordan Times. 

According to Mohammad Nijdawi, inspection directory director at the ministry, if an employee commits to all precautionary measures they will be less likely to contract the virus, especially through physical distancing and wearing a mask at all times.

During daily inspections, the ministry witnessed many violations of health protocols required for fighting the spread of the virus, he continued.

“It is absolutely unfair, we currently face a pandemic, no one is protected against the virus,” Board Director at Labour Watch Ahmad Awwad told The Jordan Times. 

Awwad added that the organisation urges the government to reconsider this decision, saying that the Social Security Corporation (SSC) should bear the responsibility, not employees. 

COVID sick leave should be considered within the “work injury category” for days off for employees, therefore the SSC should take the financial responsibility for it, he noted.

“We’re still at the beginning of the year, most of the employees still have full balance for their annual sick leave,” Salwa Naser, human resource director at a firm in the Kingdom, told The Jordan Times.  

Naser said that there’s a lot of “manipulation” going on.

“We had a case at our firm of an employee who tested positive and was off of work, suddenly the whole department tested positive,” she said.

“After a prolonged investigation we were informed that the employee who tested positive was given his colleagues’ IDs and ran a test for each one of them so each could get a paid sick leave,” Naser said. 

“The private sector is exhausted, we can’t fire any employee with the current defence order, therefore, employees are taking their jobs for granted”, Naser claimed.

Naser suggested that if an employee tests positive, and the job nature allows them to work remotely, she believes that the “working from home” policy should be fair for both employers and employees.

“If an employee tests positive, they face health complications in addition to a deduction from their salaries,” Khaled Abu Marjoub, president at freelancers and services workers association, told The Jordan Times. 

Abu Marjoub stated that an employee ends up compromising their role when a disagreement occurs, as people are truly exhausted and no one chooses to get sick. Therefore, employers have to have some “mercy” towards their employees, he noted.

It should be a worker’s choice when to use their paid sick leave, Abu Marjoub added.