Although many Dutch people choose to vacation at home during corona time, many also plan to spend their vacations abroad. This carries risks, including for you as an employer. Suppose one of your employees goes on vacation to a country and has to spend two weeks in home quarantine after returning. Are you as an employer then obliged to continue paying wages?
Risk areas
The color codes used by the government indicate whether or not it is safe to travel in a particular area. These color codes can also affect workers' wage payment. The central government advises going only to countries with a green or yellow travel advisory: travel to these countries is responsible. With code green, there are no particular security risks. With a yellow travel advisory, there are security risks, but travelers do not need home quarantine after returning.
If code orange applies to a certain area or country, then there are serious security risks in that country and therefore dangerous situations may arise for travelers. The government advises to travel to this area only if really necessary. Vacation travel logically does not fall under necessary travel.
At code red, the government's advice is not to travel to this area. Very serious security risks can create a life-threatening situation for travelers. Travelers from a country with an orange or red travel advisory are therefore strongly advised to go into home quarantine for two weeks after returning home.
As an employer, when must I continue to pay wages?
Since January 1, 2020, the main rule applies: no work but pay, unless the cause is within the employee's sphere of risk. The question that must therefore be answered is whether staying in home quarantine is the responsibility and risk of the employer or the employee. To answer that question, the following situations must be distinguished:
Travel advice changes during stay
If the travel advisory goes back from green or yellow to orange or red during the stay, the traveler is strongly advised to go into home quarantine for two weeks after returning. In this situation, the inability to work is at the employer's risk and you are therefore obliged to continue paying wages during the period the employee cannot come to work. Perhaps then, for certain positions, working from home is a good alternative.
Conscious travel to an area or country with code red or orange
The above is different if the employee knowingly chooses to go on vacation to an area subject to a red or orange travel advisory. That employee knows that he is expected to go into home quarantine after returning. In many cases, this means that the employee is thus unable to perform his work after returning. In this situation, therefore, the cause of not working is more likely to be at the employee's risk, and the employee is in principle not entitled to wages during the period of home quarantine.
Working from home
If the employee does not necessarily have to come to work, but can also work from home, then you as the employer must continue to pay wages as usual. After all, the employee continues to perform his work in that case.
Taking vacation days
Another - more lenient - option is that, when working from home is not possible, the employee takes vacation days during the period of quarantine. In this way, the withholding of wages can be avoided. The employee must take the initiative to do this. In fact, as an employer, you cannot unilaterally impose the taking of vacation days. In principle, if the work cannot be performed from home and no vacation days are taken, you are not obliged to continue paying wages - if the employee has gone to a country with code red or orange for non-essential travel.
Make agreements with employees
Finally, as an employer, it is important to realize that withholding wages is a severe sanction that can be challenged by the employee. It is therefore important to inform your employees in writing in advance about the government's advice and the risks of going on vacation to a country subject to a negative travel advisory. An employee can then not afterwards take the position that he was not aware of the consequences of traveling to certain countries.
Moreover, as an employer, you have the right to ask your employee if he is going on vacation to a country subject to an orange or red travel advisory. This is because of the potential risks of such travel for your other employees. When you know that an employee is traveling to a high-risk area, it is wise to make arrangements in advance for continued pay or vacation time during the period of home quarantine.
Note: The government's Code Orange advisory expressly applies only to passenger transportation and not to the transportation and freight industry. Employees working in that sector do not have to be put in home quarantine after returning home.
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