Protecting the rights of laid-off workers during the COVID-19 pandemic after the enactment of Law No. 11/2020 on Job Creation

This study discusses the legal protection for workers whose employment relationship has been terminated after the enactment of Law No. 11/2020 on Job Creation which derives from the Indonesian Omnibus Law. The purpose is to examine the protection of laid-off workers' rights under the Job Creation Law during the COVID-19 pandemic which has increased the threat of layoffs around the globe including in Indonesia. This study seeks to address the question of how employment termination, also known as layoff, is regulated in Law No.11/2020 on Job Creation which was repealed and replaced with Law No. 6/2023 to guarantee the rights and legal protection of laid-off workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is socio-legal research drawing on primary data related to the Job Creation Law and workers' rights protection during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of the study indicate that the regulation of worker layoffs has changed in the Job Creation Law, including the procedure for implementing the layoffs that no longer require the verdict of the Industrial Relations Court. The study also found that the protection for workers by the Job Creation Law during this pandemic is in the form of severance pay, gratuity pay, and compensation in the amount of 0.5 of the provisions of Article 156, which is smaller than the provisions of Law No. 13/2003 on Employment.