E.t was the Thursday of decisions. With the majority of SPD, Greens and FDP, the Bundestag has passed new rules in the Infection Protection Act, which affect not only the leisure sector but also the world of work. In addition, the federal and state governments discussed the implementation of the measures and financial support at a conference of ministers presidents. Some details still have to be clarified, but the basic direction is clear: hardly anything works without a vaccination or test. And sometimes citizens will need both.
What new rules will apply to the world of work in the future?
The most important innovation is the 3-G control for access to the company. Specifically, this means that people who are neither against corona vaccinated and have recovered from Covid disease, are only allowed to go to their workplace with a daily negative Corona test.
How should that work in everyday life with 3G in operation?
In principle, unvaccinated people have to deliver a negative rapid test every day in order to be allowed to enter the company. The test must not be older than 24 hours. 48 hours apply to the more complex PCR tests. However, entering the company is permitted “in order to take advantage of a test offer or a vaccination offer from the employer immediately before starting work,” says the law.
Who pays for the tests?
The law itself does not regulate this in detail. It is likely that some of the employers and some of the state will pay for the costs through the free test offers. Employers already have to offer all employees two tests per week on the basis of the Corona Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance. Unvaccinated employees would then have to get the remaining tests at the public test center, for example; they would then be financed from taxes. In addition, the new law gives the Federal Minister of Labor leeway to regulate further details on 3G at short notice: He is authorized to “stipulate in a separate ordinance” which measures employers have to take to implement the obligations under this provision and how employees should behave to have”.
Can employers now ask about the vaccination status of employees?
So far, employers have only been allowed to inquire about the vaccination status of their employees in individual sectors, for example in nursing or care for the elderly. The reason for this is the strict data protection, which sets special requirements for sensitive health data. The Union and the SPD did not succeed in the last legislative period in formulating a legal basis for this, the traffic light parties are now changing that. Now employers are obliged to collect the data in order to control the 3G obligation. For this purpose, they are also allowed to save and process personal data on the vaccination status.
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