Status: 11/17/2021 8:13 a.m.
If the SPD, Greens and FDP have their way, the 3G rule should soon apply in the workplace. Some companies are already implementing them, others are waiting. How are companies currently protecting their staff from the coronavirus?
Many companies are in favor of introducing the 3G rule in the workplace, such as the Vonovia housing company. “As long as vaccinated or recovered employees cannot work again without risk under normal conditions, the introduction of the 3G rule is a sensible solution,” said spokesman Marcel Kleifeld. However, the current legal framework made it difficult to introduce this rule. “We are therefore not yet able to apply a 3G rule. We are following the currently valid Corona Protection Ordinance, which is valid until the end of November.”
You are watching the situation closely and will adapt the measures to what is happening and the decisions of the federal government, says the company spokesman. Vonovia offers free corona tests for the workforce two days a week at its headquarters in Bochum, while corona self-tests and regional test providers are used at the other locations. Two test offers from the employer per week have been prescribed by the federal government by ordinance since April.
Henkel also offers employees a free Corona self-test twice a week. The company is waiting for new political decisions. The security measures are continuously adapted – “always on the basis of the current situation and the official requirements,” says the company.
The 3G rule already applies in Bavaria
According to the Bavarian Infection Protection Measures Ordinance, the 3G rule already applies in the workplace in Bavaria. Siemens, headquartered in Munich, implements this accordingly. No employee with personal contact is allowed to enter a location if he cannot provide valid evidence that he has been vaccinated, recovered or tested negative. That will be checked accordingly at the entrances. “Siemens has set up a crisis team at every location in Germany that takes care of the implementation of the locally applicable regulations. In this respect, we are prepared in this regard,” said company spokesman Wolfram Trost. The company offers self-tests twice a week.
Volkswagen still relies on voluntariness. “This applies to both the extensive test strategy and the vaccinations that the company has been offering in its own vaccination centers since May 2021. In addition, Volkswagen is preparing at the German locations to offer booster vaccinations against Covid-19 for the workforce as soon as the STIKO makes its recommendation adapts, “said a company spokeswoman.
Some companies rely on daily tests
At “Deutsche Wohnen”, unvaccinated employees carry out a test every day when they enter the office when they work face-to-face, while vaccinated employees carry out a test twice a week if they are not working in the home office. The entire workforce has now received a vaccination offer. However, it is the employees’ free choice to be vaccinated. “That is why we are currently neither planning vaccination premiums nor compulsory vaccinations for working in the office and are relying on the principle of testing,” said spokeswoman Laura Kruß.
At ThyssenKrupp, the workforce in Germany has been offering free corona self-tests since the beginning of April. This offer will now be expanded significantly due to the current infection situation. Five corona self-tests are available per week to ensure that all colleagues present have a daily negative test result – regardless of whether the respective person has already been vaccinated or has recovered. This is done on the basis of trust.
“With this step we hope to set an example for politics: The time to act is now. We need consistent and uniform rules in order to protect our employees as best as possible and to normalize work processes in our company again,” said Oliver, Chief Human Resources Officer Burkhard. At the same time, preparations are being made to be able to start booster vaccinations by the company medical service in December. But there will be no special incentives for the workforce.
At BASF, a vaccination rate of 80 percent is assumed. There are currently no plant-wide 3G regulations at the Ludwigshafen site. “We are monitoring developments very closely and are preparing to adjust our measures if necessary,” said spokeswoman Verena Lilge. The company provides the workforce with two self-tests per week.
3G rule
As part of the protection against infection in the corona pandemic, the 3G rule serves to define groups of people who are assumed to have a low epidemiological risk. The three “G” stand for:
– Gvaccinated persons
– Genesene people
– Gtested people (i.e. people with a current, negative SARS-CoV-2 test)
Proof of belonging to one of these three groups of people may include access authorizations to facilities or entry permits to certain countries. The competent authorities in each case define whether and in which cases the 3G rule is applied and how long the evidence of membership of the respective group of people is valid – for example, how old a negative test result may be or how long ago the infection was survived allowed to benefit from the 3G rule after recovery.