The Impact of Worker Infectious Disease on the Employment Contract in Jordanian Legislation

Abstract

The study aims to identify the impact of worker infectious disease on the employment contract in Jordanian legislation in terms of the meaning of infectious disease and its types (chronic or temporary), without considering it a work injury when that happens inside or outside the workplace. In addition, it discusses the rights and obligations of both parties. The study used the descriptive analytical approach to discuss Jordanian labor and civil law provisions. The study revealed that the Jordanian legislator did not enact special laws appropriate for this type of disease. It did not adopt any apparent mechanism to protect the two parties of the contract or any other resilient provision and consequences that cope with worker’s infection. The researchers came up with several results, the foremost of which are: The Jordanian legislator did not pay any attention to the infectious disease that the workers might contract in terms of rules relevant to such type of disease or to secure any warranties for laborer and employer. The study proposed numerous recommendations, the foremost of which is the need to have a resilient applicable mechanism to protect both parties of the contract in case of an infectious disease. The mechanism should also consider the possibility of working from a distance and assign a fund for infectious disease cases to care for workers and employers.