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Employers want information rights about vaccination

Aug 31, 2021 Jordan Hansen

The German Employers Association (BDA) has criticized the new updated pandemic regulation on health and safety at work prepared by Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD).

The federal government should stop confusion. Companies now need a clear message that they will be able to ask about the vaccination status of their employees in order to be able to provide the necessary measures to protect the health of all their employees, says BDA President Rainer Dolger in a statement to “Spiegel”.

‘It’s counterproductive’

Secretary Hill’s new Occupational Health and Safety bill de facto prohibits employers from asking questions about vaccination status. “This is counterproductive and prevents the necessary clarity that companies now need,” Dolger asserts.

The regulation, which is set to take effect on Wednesday, states that workers must be able to vaccinate during working hours if necessary. As Hill explained in Spiegel August 21, employers should allow workers to be vaccinated during work hours to increase the national vaccination rate. In this way, the minister wanted to “involve employers more”.

We must constantly ensure that the workplace does not become a place of infection – explained Hill in “Augsburger Allgemeine”. Employers should provide immunization and testing where possible. (…]We will appeal to employers to do more (…) to enable vaccinations during working hours – he added.

Should the number of COVID-19 cases increase, the minister does not rule out returning to remote work where possible. “It is clear to me that the duty to work from home will likely be re-imposed rather than closing schools and nurseries,” Hill quoted Spiegel as saying.

In Germany, according to the approved regulations, until the end of June, employers had to offer remote work as much as possible. According to a survey conducted by the Munich Ifo Institute, in June about 28.4 percent. Workers have benefited at least partially from the option to work from home.