The medical certificate of quarantine: who receives one and what are the consequences?
The group of experts responsible for the exit strategy from the coronavirus crisis has developed a new medical certificate: the ‘medical certificate of quarantine’. Who receives this certificate and what should you do if an employee submits one?
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. That is why the Group of Experts responsible for the Exit-Strategy (GEES) have developed a variant of the medical certificate for incapacity to work: the medical certificate of quarantine.
Who receives a quarantine certificate?
The GP will provide a medical certificate of quarantine to employees who are fit to work, but who cannot be present at their regular workplace. This is possible if the employee:
- may have been infected with COVID-19 (e.g. after contact with an infected person);
- belongs to a high-risk group due to personal medical reasons.
The GEES is currently drawing up a list of the high-risk groups who are eligible for a quarantine certificate.
What impact will this have on the employee’s salary?
Employees with a quarantine certificate may not leave their homes. But what does that mean with regard to the employee’s salary?
- Those for whom teleworking is possible will simply continue to work as usual and will receive their normal salary.
- Those for whom teleworking is not possible are entitled to temporary unemployment benefits.
What if an employee is infected?
An employee infected with COVID-19 who is experiencing symptoms of illness is unfit for work and receives a standard medical certificate from the doctor. The employee is then entitled to thirty days of guaranteed salary and after that to a benefit from the health insurance fund.
If an infected employee shows no symptoms but has tested positive, a quarantine certificate is written to go into quarantine.
Advice for employers
In order to be sure that you take the right steps when an employee notifies you of illness, as long as the quarantine certificate system remains in use, we recommend the following:
- When the employee notifies you of illness, you should explicitly request their medical certificate. That way you can be sure whether it is a matter of a ‘traditional notification of illness’ or a notification of quarantine.
- In the case of a quarantine, discuss with your employee whether teleworking is possible for him or her and if so, how.
- Is teleworking not possible? Help your employee to submit an application for temporary unemployment benefits.