Berlin – The health ministers of the federal states agree. They want employees to have to tell their employers their vaccination status and their convalescence status in the future. The current GMK decision states: “The federal government is requested to create a legal basis for a general obligation of employees to provide information about their vaccination and convalescence status to their employer.” Schools, correctional facilities and nursing homes as well as in hospitals and medical practices. The health ministers now want to extend the obligation to provide information to all professional groups.
DGB boss Reiner Hoffmann had recently spoken out against such a regulation. It is “a very sensitive topic”. The DGB recommends that all employees make their vaccination status transparent. But: “We are still against the obligation to provide information.” The labor lawyer Tobias Werner told the rbb that one “should be careful because, after all, it is about highly sensitive data”. A duty to provide information must always have a legal basis. So far, the employee has been allowed to lie “if there is an inadmissible question”. Werner: “However, if there is a right to ask questions, the employee must answer truthfully. If he does not do this, there is a risk of labor law consequences. This can be a warning, but also a termination. “
Separate canteens for vaccinated and unvaccinated people
If the obligation to provide information is enforced, this does not mean that employers can also oblige their employees to have a corona vaccination. There is no general state vaccination requirement. In addition, according to the current legal situation, employees must not be disadvantaged if they do not want to be vaccinated. However, employers can use information about vaccination status when organizing their own work processes. It is possible, for example, that unvaccinated people will be assigned other jobs. Access to public spaces such as canteens can also be restricted.
The chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer is currently running pilot projects for canteen areas only for vaccinated and convalescent people. Those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered should in future be able to sit closer together again and eat without a mask or distance. For unvaccinated employees or those who do not want to provide information about their vaccination status, there are still distance rules, masks and partitions when eating, the group said, according to media reports. The utility Eon and the insurance group Ergo are examining similar regulations according to company information.
Own meetings and working groups for vaccinated people
As the Rheinische Post writes, Bayer goes one step further. In this way, employees can set up work groups on their own without unvaccinated persons. The company told the newspaper: “Self-organized groups, for example in multi-person or open-plan offices, in laboratories or parts of production, can voluntarily apply the 2G rule (vaccinated or recovered) without distance and mask or work meetings in face-to-face meetings carry out.”