So, what about those employers who have to shut down shop for the next 30 days? What will they do with their employees? In fact, what obligations do they have to those employees in terms of notice pay even - now that a National State of Emergency has been declared?
Not much, according to the Prime Minister:
Reporter
"How do employers treat with employees who they can no longer pay. They have to close down. Let's say they are a none essential business and they have to close down. How do they handle the issue of their contract with their employees? What are their obligations, especially considering they have no revenue?"
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"If a state of emergency is declared and in consequence there of businesses are forced to close - that it seems to me comes under that very useful legal category of force ma·jeure. So that really is the answer. It's not the fault of the employer. It's as a consequence of an act of state. The labor ministry will still I believe will be able to offer some kind of guidance, but at the end of the day those that are put off for short period at least can be made whole again very quickly."
Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney General
"The state of emergency is just for 30 days. It's a long toime relatively speaking for a lot of businesses, but also remember that it doesn't have to last the full 30 days. If everybody cooperates and we try to do our best to follow the mandate of the regulations, it could be over much earlier."
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