A Munich labor lawyer says what questions the boss can ask about vaccination status - and what rights employees have.
The interview.
Munich - Ulrich Grund is an expert in labor law at the Munich law firm Romatka.
We talked to him about vaccinations and compulsory tests in the workplace.
Can the employer ask about my vaccination status?
It is debatable whether this is a valid question.
There are still no court decisions on this.
But with other questions in connection with the pandemic * it was found that the data protection authorities were comparatively generous.
This applies, for example, to test results or temperature measurements before entering the factory.
That was already considered admissible.
Is it allowed to ask colleagues if they are vaccinated?
As a colleague, you are of course always allowed to ask questions.
The question is whether you have a right to have him answer truthfully.
I would rather say no.
If you follow the rules that apply to workplaces - distance, mask that is ventilated - the argument will likely be directed against an obligation to provide information.
As an employee, can I refuse to sit in the office next to a colleague I know has not been vaccinated?
Only if the distance of one and a half meters cannot be maintained and no other comparable protection against infection is possible.
"The employer pays for the tests - but the employee does not have to accept the offer"
Can the employer forcibly send unvaccinated people to the home office?
No he can't.
It is of course something different if you have determined work in the home office from the start.
But that is not the norm.
Normally you do your work in the company - there the employer has to create the conditions so that the hygiene plan can be adhered to at the workplace.
Can the employer force his employees in body-hugging industries to vaccinate?
Not yet.
The argument is that there is currently not even mandatory vaccination in the nursing profession.
Every employee in these industries will refer to this.
Who pays for the tests in the workplace if the tests are chargeable?
The employer, and it should stay that way.
He has to offer the tests *, but the employee does not have to accept the offer.
"It is to be expected that companies will say: We only employ vaccinated people"
Are you expecting all kinds of legal proceedings on all these subjects soon?
Yes, there will certainly be.
Regarding the questions: Can an employer in an existing employment relationship ask for a vaccination?
Then there is the question: Can an employer ask about the vaccination status when initiating an employment relationship, i.e. in an interview, and how can I comment on it?
From my point of view, it is to be expected that companies will then say that we only employ vaccinated people, for example in a body-related service sector.
Can I then write in the job advertisement: “only vaccinated people”?
When does the procedure take place?
Two options are obvious.
Either an applicant is not accepted because he is not vaccinated or because he refuses to provide information about his vaccination status.
Then he sues for compensation because he was not hired because of what he saw as an impermissible condition.
Second variant: If someone is warned or dismissed during the current employment relationship because he does not want to provide information about the vaccination status or does not want to be vaccinated
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Interview: Barabara Wimmer - * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
