About half of the people in Germany have now received a booster vaccination. Employees who have not yet received a booster risk being left with no income in the event of an infection, depending on how long it has been since the last vaccination. A short report by the scientific services of the Bundestag has now drawn attention to this, about which the imagenewspaper reported. However, this does not apply to all infected people. Answers to the most important questions.
Who must expect a loss of earnings in the event of a corona infection?
Basically, those who have not followed public recommendations on vaccinations will be quarantined and therefore unable to work. According to the Infection Protection Act, those affected in quarantine are actually entitled to compensation, which means that the employer continues to pay the wages, but then gets the money back from the state. According to the law, however, this does not apply if an affected person “could have avoided it” through a legally prescribed or recommended vaccination. The Standing Committee on Vaccination (Stiko) currently recommends a booster vaccination at least three months after an initial full immunization. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, people who have been vaccinated twice do not have to go into quarantine for 90 days after the second vaccination. “Anyone who has to be vaccinated and then has to go into quarantine without a booster vaccination would in fact no longer be entitled to continued payment of wages if there was a corresponding recommendation from the state,” explains the ministry. It also depends on whether the respective federal state has implemented the rule, transitional periods may apply here.
What applies in the event of a corona disease?
According to Katja Giese, specialist lawyer for labor law at the Kliemt law firm, other rules apply to sick people. As long as there is no general obligation to vaccinate, “even an employee who has not been vaccinated voluntarily will continue to receive his salary within the framework of the statutory continued payment of wages in the event of illness,” Giese told the SZ.
What applies to those who have recovered?
The same as for the vaccinated or unvaccinated. “This person is also not vaccinated voluntarily and continues to receive salary in the event of illness,” says Giese. If someone does not fall ill but has to be in quarantine, there is a risk of a loss of earnings. The recovered status is valid for three months, the period begins to run on the day on which the corona infection was detected in a laboratory.
And what if employees are unable to work because of the care of children suffering from Corona, but this disease could have been avoided by recommended vaccinations?
“It can probably be transferred,” says Katja Giese. However, there are still no corresponding specifications. Although the Stiko recommended a booster vaccination for 12 to 17 year olds last week, this decision is still in the so-called commenting process, so it is not yet effective. So if the recommendation is effective, it could mean that parents face a loss of earnings if they have to quarantine their unvaccinated children if vaccination was officially recommended. But if the child falls ill, “the same rules apply as for any other child illness,” says Giese, so the salary will continue to be paid.
What applies in the event of infection through travel to high-risk areas or other areas where entry has been warned or advised against?
In this case, an employee is not entitled to a salary because he or she “partially caused” the incapacity for work, says Giese. Regardless of the question of vaccination, he traveled to the risk area himself and thus voluntarily put himself in danger.
Are further changes foreseeable?
As soon as the official recommendations or regulations change, new rules also apply to loss of earnings, because the Infection Protection Act refers to the current Corona requirements. In principle, the following always applies: Anyone who does not follow the advice or the legal regulations can lose their earnings. The vaccination recommendation for children and adolescents should take effect next. A general obligation to vaccinate would bring further changes, probably also for the continued payment of wages for corona sufferers.