FAQ
Status: 23.11.2021 6:28 p.m.
The new 3G rule will take effect in the workplace from tomorrow: All employees on site must then be vaccinated, recovered or tested. tagesschau.de provides answers to the most important questions.
Where does the 3G rule apply?
The requirement adopted by the federal and state governments, which applies up to and including March 19, 2022, affects all employers and employees who enter a so-called workplace. According to the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS), this includes both offices and factory buildings as well as places outdoors on the premises of a company. Appropriate 3G proof must also be available for construction sites, traffic routes, storage and sanitary rooms as well as canteens. Only the home office and working in vehicles are excluded from the rule.
How is it controlled?
The respective employer is responsible for checking the 3G certificates before entering the workplace. This means that every employee at the factory gate or at the office door must be intercepted and checked. How exactly – whether through its own staff or external third parties – is up to the company. At Volkswagen, for example, plant security takes care of that.
“The negative test evidence is checked at the checkpoints of the factory gates and is a prerequisite for daily access,” wrote the largest German car manufacturer in a personnel telegram to its employees tagesschau.de is present. Providing proof by email is not permitted for reasons of data protection law. However, it is possible to do a visual inspection via Skype or Teams.
What evidence is possible?
In order to gain access to the workplace, a vaccination certificate, proof of recovery or a negative test result – possibly in combination with an identity card – is required from tomorrow. Unvaccinated people need a rapid test that is no longer than 24 hours old and must be carried out by a “service provider”, i.e. a test center or doctor’s office. A self-test at home is not possible. According to the BMAS, a PCR test may have been performed 48 hours ago.
The 3G verification requirement also applies to employees who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. However, there are exceptions: Employees are allowed to enter a workplace to be vaccinated or tested under supervision.
Who pays for the tests?
Unvaccinated employees can use the citizens’ tests, which have been free of charge again for a short time, for their 3G proof. After the end of the shift, they can always be tested there for the next day – but only if there is sufficient capacity on site. “Otherwise you have to find another way on your own responsibility and, if in doubt, pay for the test yourself,” a BMAS spokeswoman said tagesschau.de. The best alternative is a free vaccination.
The companies themselves can also offer a test option. As already mentioned, these must be supervised. Self-tests that companies already have to provide twice a week and usually send home to their employees for their own testing are not enough.
Do vaccinated and convalescents have to prove their status on a daily basis?
An average of 90 percent of employees in companies have already been vaccinated or have recovered, like tagesschau.de found out today from employers’ circles. You can deposit your evidence once with the employer and are thus exempt from the daily checks. In many companies this is done by storing the information on the employee ID card – this is also the case with VW.
“The supervisor is obliged to give the employee the opportunity in a one-to-one conversation whether he has been vaccinated or recovered (2G),” the group informed its employees. After he has presented his proof, the manager permanently unlocks the respective works ID for access to the premises.
According to the BMAS, however, companies still do not have the right to query the vaccination status of their employees directly. So if you don’t want to reveal your vaccination status, you have to show a negative corona test.
What happens to the requested data?
The data must be deleted no later than six months after their collection. In addition, the employer may not pass them on to third parties. The BMAS recommends keeping checklists.
Are the controls counted as working time?
Since the inspection process by the works security will take time to complete at the respective shift changes, the employees have to plan enough waiting time, according to VW. But: “This waiting time is not working time”. At most other companies, too, according to insiders, waiting is not part of the working hours.
“The testing itself does not count as working time, not even if it takes place in the company. Neither is the procurement of a recovery or vaccination certificate,” explains Christoph Kehlbach from the ARD legal editors opposite to tagesschau.de. Because the new legal regulation provides that employees are only allowed to enter their workplace if they “carry the relevant evidence with them, keep them available for inspection or have deposited with the employer”. The legislator therefore assumes that the relevant evidence has been obtained before work begins.
However, according to Kehlbach, there does not necessarily have to be long queues at the entrance to the company premises. “The control could be carried out by a tour of the offices and halls – but it just has to be done every day,” said the legal expert.
In which companies can problems arise?
Experts especially expect problems with stationary work or companies with changing work locations – such as in the building trade or in building cleaning. The Bundesinnungsverband des Gebäudereiniger-Handwerks (BIV) sharply criticized the change to the Infection Protection Act: “The new test and control obligations are logistically, personally and financially not feasible for our service trade and therefore criminalize our companies with sight”, says Managing Director Johannes Bungart.
As with the home office rules, the legislator apparently only has workshop or office workplaces in mind, where the test and control requirements are easier to meet. In contrast, almost 700,000 employees in this country would work in more than 100,000 cleaning objects and would often change their location with short periods of use. The question of whether the documentation obligation lies with the respective employer or with the customer is particularly controversial.
What happens if employees refuse to undergo 3G controls?
“Anyone who does not meet the legal requirements for testing and verification could run into problems on several levels: First of all, there is a risk of a fine in the event of non-compliance,” emphasizes ARDLegal expert Kehlbach. In addition, employers are obliged to deny their employees access without the relevant evidence. If the corresponding professional activity could not be done in the home office, those affected would not be entitled to payment for this time.
In the event of a permanent refusal, according to Kehlbach, the employees are threatened with a warning and, as a last resort, even dismissal. Most companies want employees who cannot or do not want to implement the 3G regulation to first fall back on a leave of absence without pay, according to company circles.
How are the authorities supervising 3G control of employers?
The monitoring of the 3G controls is not regulated nationwide. The BMAS announced that the regulatory agencies or police authorities of the federal states were responsible. “We are assuming major controls,” said a spokeswoman. However, that could differ from one municipality to another. One thing is certain, however: If the obligations to monitor and carry 3G documents are violated, the company faces a fine of up to 25,000 euros.