Saturday, August 14, 2021
Employers reject duty
The vaccination status is secret in the office
By Christina Lohner
American tech giants only allow vaccinated employees into the office. Quite different in this country: companies no longer want to pay for tests for their employees and reject compulsory vaccination. The legal hurdles for a duty are high – at least until now.
American companies announce compulsory vaccinations for their employees almost every day. After the tech giants Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Uber, for example, McDonald’s or the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, which manufactures the drug Remdesivir for the treatment of Covid-19 patients, require vaccination against the coronavirus. The US government has now even expressly encouraged employers to oblige their employees to peek. In addition to companies, states, municipalities, universities and hospitals in the United States have already given dozens of millions of Americans to injections. It is in the power of employers “to help end the pandemic,” said White House corona coordinator Jeffrey Zients. In Germany, on the other hand, there is reluctance among employers when it comes to vaccination pressure. The legal situation in this country is also different.
“Every employee is free to be vaccinated or not,” emphasized Hans-Jürgen Völz to ntv.de, chief economist of the Federal Association of Medium-Sized Enterprises (BVMV). Medium-sized companies rely primarily on incentives and thus voluntariness. In addition to information about the vaccination and short-term exemption for it, vaccination premiums, canteen vouchers or vacation days are conceivable. As an alternative to vaccination, tests and mobile work ensure that there is no risk of infection.
The worry about it doesn’t seem to be too great. The distance and hygiene rules are meticulously observed in the companies, says Völz. In addition, company doctors had vaccinated “wherever it was possible and desired”. “So you are doing everything you can to largely rule out contagion.”
The Federal Association of Employers’ Associations (BDA) also rejects mandatory vaccination. “As an employer, we continue to rely on voluntariness,” said the association of the “Rheinische Post”. Companies themselves are also cautious. “There is no compulsory vaccination,” said a VW spokesman on ntv.de request. The car manufacturer had set up its own vaccination centers. A spokesman for Mediamarkt-Saturn stated: “With regard to compliance with the three Gs, we rely on the personal responsibility and solidarity of our colleagues.” Employees should only come to headquarters if they have been vaccinated, recovered, or tested negative. The company’s own test and vaccination offers were very well received. In addition, home office will continue to be made possible.
High legal hurdles for compulsory vaccination
In the opinion of most lawyers, compulsory vaccination would not be allowed in German companies at the moment, as Horst Call told ntv.de, professor of labor law and private business law at the Ostfalia University. It is true that an employer has the right to an undisturbed business process and must also protect its employees from health risks. But the general right of personality and above all the right to physical integrity weigh heavier, according to Call. “An employer can issue instructions, but they must be consistent with the values of fundamental rights.” According to the labor lawyer, it would look different if the legislature introduced mandatory vaccination – then companies could also insist on it.
But at the moment the professor does not even see a chance of compulsory vaccination for certain jobs such as nursing. “That would only work if the vaccination were a necessary prerequisite for the fulfillment of the activity.” This is not the case with most workplaces, not even in an intensive care unit, explained Call. Protection against corona can also be guaranteed by keeping a distance and protective clothing. If, on the other hand, an employee has to travel to a country that requires proof of vaccination, for example, the situation would be different. However, this can usually be done by a vaccinated colleague if an employee does not want to be vaccinated.
Companies are not even allowed to ask about the vaccination status as long as there is no general obligation to vaccinate, as Call explained – or only if an employee voluntarily agrees to the query. “That must not be linked to advantages or disadvantages,” clarified the labor lawyer. Companies in this country should also not be obliged to carry out tests, although they currently have to offer them to their employees twice a week. Some federal states made an exception for physical contact with customers, but that was controversial.
According to Call, an employer should only insist on a test if there is a reasonable suspicion of a Covid 19 infection, for example if employees have worked closely with an infected person. If an employee declined a test anyway, the company would be able to deny him access to the office or factory – but they would still have to pay the salary.
Employers no longer want to pay for tests
In any case, the companies’ interest in regular testing is limited. The employers’ association BDA demands that companies end their obligation to offer their employees free quick tests by October at the latest. If the state withdraws from the financing, the duty of employers must also end. This is also the opinion of the medium-sized business association BVMV: “With increasing vaccination progress there is no need to offer permanent free tests by employers, especially not because vaccinations are possible without any personal contribution,” explained Völz.
Only a quarter of German companies that have a company doctor offered their employees vaccinations. Another twelve percent were planning to do so, as a representative survey published by the Institute for Employment Research at the beginning of July revealed. Larger companies in particular with more than 250 employees vaccinated themselves. However, some companies also criticized the fact that they were included in the vaccination campaign too late. Politicians have wasted the chance to reach more reluctant unvaccinated people, complained about the employers’ associations of Baden-Württemberg.
VW, for example, made a vaccination offer to all around 140,000 employees at the German sites, according to the spokesman. By the beginning of August, the carmaker had completely vaccinated around 35,000 of them; In addition, employees in vaccination centers or with doctors would have been vaccinated. Since enough vaccine is now available, relatives of employees at VW can now also be vaccinated.
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