July 15th, 2020
In an extraordinary BOJA of the Junta the Junta de Andalucía (Official Newsletter of the Andalucian Regional Council) publishes the mandatory of the mask at all times (with few exceptions). The consequences for businesses that do not comply with the measures go far beyond the € 100,00 fine that is set for non-compliant people.
What does the regulation regulate?
The masks will be mandatory for people of 6 years of age and older on public roads (outdoor spaces and any closed or open space for public use) even if the safety distance between people is met. In public transports (bus, trains, plane, boats …).Also the use of the mask is recommended at private meetings (open or closed spaces) when people are not living together.
On beaches and pools it is not necessary to wear the mask during bathing or while staying in a certain space as long as the safety distance is respected, the use of the mask will be compulsory during trips and walks on the beaches or pools .
In the case of individual outdoor sports, the use of the mask will not be required either. As well as people with disease, disability or respiratory distress that may be affected by the use of the mask, they will not be required to use it either.
In the wakeings and burials a maximum capacity of 25 people will be allowed in open spaces or 10 people in closed spaces. Maintaining the safety distance and use of a mask.
If for a person the consequence of not using the mask may be, among others, a penalty of 100,00 euros, for a person in charge of a place open to the public, the responsibilities reach the labor, civil, administrative and even criminal spheres. This is a basic summary of the consequences:
What are the consequences of not complying with measures in business?
1.- In the workplace.
The lack of protective measures is a punishable act for which the labor inspectorate can impose sanctions and even propose the closure of the premises.
Failure to provide workers with adequate security elements could be the reason that the worker himself terminated his contract in compensation for the employer’s breach.
Inspectors will be able to issue infringement records if breaches occur and companies could face fines ranging from 2.046 euros to almost 41.000 euros in the most serious cases.
Companies must put in place means to maintain a safety distance of 1.5 meters between their employees and when it is not possible to provide adequate protective equipment. They must also guarantee ventilation, cleanliness and hygiene in the workplaces, provide hydrogels, rearrange shifts to avoid the massive coincidence of people, whether customers or workers, or encourage teleworking.
Failure to comply with the above measures will be considered a “serious infringement”. According to the occupational risk prevention regulations, fines at their minimum level range from 2.046 to 8.195 euros, in the middle from 8.196 to 20.490 euros and at the maximum from 20.491 to 40.985 euros.
2.- In the civil sphere.
If a source of contagion is detected in a business premises due to lack of follow-up of the decreed measures, and it can be demonstrated, those affected could claim compensation from the person responsible, variable depending on the consequences.
3.- Administrative.
The competent authorities can impose different fines depending on the severity of the breach, and decree the closure of the premises.
4.- Penalties.
Disobedience of security regulations has been severely punished during confinement, with heavy penalties, fines and even imprisonment. A crime against public health can be committed even “recklessly”
These fines are imposed pursuant to the Citizen Security Law, known as the “mor gag law ’.
.- Conclusion.
If, as the person in charge of a premises, you observe that the attendees are not complying with the sanitary, capacity, or protection measures, you must warn them, and when the warning is disregarded, you must propose the abandonment of the premises, or even end up closing it, as it may suffer the consequences of non-compliance, even doing everything well …
