Juridical analysis of termination of employment due to the Covid-19 Pandemic in the context of Indonesian employment law and citizenship education

Abstract

The Indonesian government has determined the Covid-19 as a pandemic. This condition forced the government to issue various restrictions, such as working from home and regulations regarding the capacity limit in a room. These restrictions also contributed to the weaknesses that occurred, resulting in many layoffs. It became even more complicated with the stipulation of COVID-19 as a national disaster and the issuance of several laws and regulations, such as Presidential Decree No. 12 of 2020 concerning the Determination of Non-Natural Disasters for the Spread of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) to strengthen the reasons for entrepreneurs declaring the pandemic as a force majeure event. The decline in the economic sector has direct implications for the working community (employees) in the formal and informal sectors. This is due to the decrease in the production produced by the company. In addition, the depletion of the availability of industrial raw materials, the weakening of the Rupiah against the Dollar, the decline in Indonesian tourism visitors, and the fall of the composite stock index have forced employers to lay off their workers. One form of legal protection for workers is legal rules related to the termination of employment. Termination of Employment (PHK) is the termination of employment due to certain reasons which result in the termination of the rights and obligations between the worker/laborer and the business owner (Article 1 number 25 of Law 13/2003). The layoff provisions are further regulated in Articles 150-172 of Law 13/2003). The analysis process is descriptive-analytical to obtain an overview of the forms of legal protection for workers from the shadow of layoffs during the pandemic. It is descriptive because this research not only collects, compiles, and presents the data obtained during the research but also includes the analysis and interpretation of laws and regulations with data related to the problem under study.