Fourth wave
3G and 2G at work: How companies are tightening their corona rules
The first companies only want to let vaccinated, convalescent or tested people into the office
© Michael Bihlmayer // Picture Alliance
There is currently no general 3G obligation for the workplace. But more and more employers are establishing their own rules – and making it harder for those who have not been vaccinated.
It’s a bit of a paradox: anyone who wants to go to the restaurant or the hairdresser has to be vaccinated, recovered or tested. For many cultural events, the stricter 2G rule even applies, according to which a test is not sufficient. In the German working world, on the other hand, there is still a lack of clear legal requirements despite the increasing number of infected people.
Although people at work sometimes meet indoors for hours, there is no nationwide 3G requirement, not to mention a compulsory vaccination. Employers are currently only obliged to offer employees two tests per week, they do not have to take advantage of the offer. Italy, Austria and France show that things can be done differently, all of which have recently introduced nationwide 3G rules for the workplace.
In Germany, however, every federal state does what it wants. Tests are usually only intended for specific areas such as schools or care facilities. Bavaria is now introducing a general 3G rule at work, at least for corona hotspots. However, it only applies from incidences of 300 and an intensive care bed occupancy rate of 80 percent – and only for businesses with more than ten employees.
Separate canteens and 3G throughout the company
Because politicians are hesitant, some companies are now taking control of the pandemic into their own hands. They are introducing their own 3G and 2G rules for their employees. The chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer is currently testing separate canteen areas that are only accessible to vaccinated and convalescent people. In offices and laboratories, Bayer employees can voluntarily join forces to form 2G groups. Means: If only vaccinated and recovered colleagues come together, there is no need for distance or mask.
Other companies also want to give vaccinated people more freedom. Energy supplier Eon and travel company Alltours are also planning separate canteen areas for vaccinated and unvaccinated people. While some can sit together without restrictions, others have to keep their distance. Beer brewer Krombacher has already introduced the 2G canteen.
Some companies are moving ahead with 3G models for the entire operation: at the software giant SAP and at Deutsche Börse, only employees who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested are welcome in the office. This is currently not being checked because there is no legal basis, but 3G is already in practice here. However, the offices of large companies are still pretty empty because many employees still work from home, as a Handelsblatt survey of corporations and large family businesses showed.
Controversial point of vaccination information
Many companies are still reluctant to introduce restrictions on people who have not been vaccinated. Because 3G and 2G models are currently often difficult in terms of labor law. Implementing such rules is made more difficult for employers primarily by the fact that they are not allowed to query the vaccination status of their employees. So far, this has only been possible in daycare centers, schools and nursing homes. Employers’ associations are therefore calling for this to be changed: Companies must be given the right to information about the vaccination or convalescence status of their employees, demands employer President Rainer Dulger.
On November 25th, politicians let the “epidemic situation of national scope” come to an end. However, many companies would like to finally have clearer rules for combating the forthcoming fourth wave. “The federal and state governments must quickly jointly create a clear federal legal basis so that companies can use 3G-based protective measures for their employees in a comprehensible and planned manner in the coming weeks,” said Industry President Siegfried Russwurm of the DPA. It should not be “that a small group of people who refuse to be vaccinated will paralyze an entire society with the majority of those who have been vaccinated” in the coming months. For those who work in nursing homes, schools and day-care centers, he also considers compulsory vaccination to be appropriate.