The companies in Germany they will not have the right to ask their employees if they have vaccinated against covid-19, although there may be some settlement for specific sectors, German Labor Minister Hubertus Hale said today.
In many countries vaccination of workers in high-risk areas – such as healthcare and civil servants – has become mandatory, and some companies, mainly in the US, have asked their staff to be vaccinated against covid-19.
However, personal data protection laws in Germany are very strict, which means that companies do not have the right to request information about the health of their staff.
German companies are pressuring the government to allow their staff to ask if they have been vaccinated against covid-19. Nearly 61% of the German population is fully immunized and 65% have received a dose of the covid-19 vaccine, with Berlin trying to persuade others to get vaccinated.
The cabinet agreed today that companies should allow their employees to take breaks in order to be vaccinated and tailor protection measures against covid-19 according to the vaccination status of their staff, if they are aware of this.
Hale told ARD television that he understood that some employees were also interested in learning about their colleagues’ vaccination status, but that under German law employers could not request such information.
“Employees’ health data is particularly sensitive,” said German Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht, speaking to the Funke news group, but added that such data could be allowed to be accessed in high-risk areas.
Hale commented that realistic solutions are needed for hospitals or prisons, for example.
Exceptions to the law have already been made so that restaurants can reopen, with staff and customers required to present either a vaccination certificate, a disease certificate or a negative diagnostic test.
Hale explained that the same could apply to other high-risk areas, but that the decision would be made by the Department of Health.
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