If you are a working person and you live with a sick pet and, for example, you must help it eat, take medication or take it to the vet, how do you reconcile this with your work time? “It should not be seen as frivolous,” maintains researcher Oriol Cremades, professor of Labor Law at the Rovira i Virgili University (URV).
His pioneering study, Pet Welfare and Work Law: Convergences and Proposals, proposes legislation to create a paid work permit so that people can care for their pet. Also due to the death of the house dog or cat. There is no paid leave of this type in any European country, one of the places where the most progress is being made to protect their well-being and rights.
Now it is up to what the employee can agree on with his company, whether to use vacation or free time days, teleworking or in exceptional cases of pet friendly policies of some companies, such as taking him to work, if this is possible.
“Obligations and sanctions are provided for by law for those who have animals in their care. As a society, we have reinforced the protection of animals, to treat them as sentient beings, but how do we do it if we are at work all day,” the article states. finalist for the 2023 Financial Studies Award in the Labor and Social Security Law category.
Its author is aware that the issue generates debate and controversy. He warns that it would also be good for companies and their productivity. “Scientific studies are demonstrating both the negative impact of the suffering of companion animals on the physical and mental health of working people.”
The investigation even proposes that “the right of the worker to be compensated for damages” caused by behavior contrary to the welfare of the animal on the part of the employer be legislated.
The study highlights that the rights of animals and their well-being will increasingly be protected more and better, so it will be essential to address the great pending issue: work, where we spend at least a third of our time, not counting travel. “It is a global trend to have pets and ensure animal welfare. The problem already exists and it can be predicted that it will worsen in the near future.”
The European Commission is studying whether its staff can bring their pets to their offices, arguing the beneficial impact it can have on their mental health, the research exemplifies.
It goes a little further and states that "the eventual administrative, civil and criminal liability of the employer for the action or omission that causally caused the worker to be unable to attend to the legally required care of animals would not be hypothetically ruled out." For all this, he advocates legislating and creating a care permit and another for when the animal dies, although he does not close any model. “I don't specify the days or hours per year, or whether they could be accumulated or not. It should be the result of a broad social dialogue,” he highlights.
The researcher warns that sooner rather than later the debate will have to be faced socially and politically. “It would be better to legislate than not leave it in the hands of companies, if one company gives permission and another does not, problems will arise. “The animal welfare regulations are for everyone,” he reflects.
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