Due to the lashes of storm "Franklin" throughout the country, through Decree 380-23 of 21 August 2023, the Dominican Government ordered a "suspension of work," according to Law 147-02, of 9/13/2003, on the Management of Risks.
In that sense, the Ministry of Labour issued Resolution 06-2023, making the suspension of work more flexible, encouraging remote work, and carrying out work according to the needs that arise.
It is important to note that no non-working days were declared, which is something the government cannot do by decree. Non-working days are established by law and are distinguished from suspension of work since, legally, non-working days are paid without the employee needing to go to work. And if the Company wants the employee to work on a non-working day, it must compensate them with a 100% increase that day.
On the other hand, with the suspension of work, the parties' obligations are suspended. The employee does not have to work, while the company does not have to pay a salary. Theoretically, the company wouldn't have to pay for that day and a half of suspension. The companies that did pay their employees did it out of goodwill because they were not obligated to do so.
Conclusion
When a suspension of work occurs again, human resource managers should know that they only must pay for those days if the company decides to. They are not obliged to pay their employees' salaries for those days.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
