If it is up to Belgian entrepreneurs, the corona pass system could also be extended to the workplace. More than half of the companies are in favor of this, according to a survey by the HR services group liantis at 1.504 entrepreneurs. “Understandably, entrepreneurs are responsible for the safety of their employees. But for the time being, the law simply does not allow this," Liantis said.
Last week it turned out that most companies are still sticking to corona measures such as a mouth mask and keeping distance at the workplace. One of the reasons for this is that they don't know exactly which of their staff has been vaccinated or not, so they don't want to run the risk of their employees falling ill.
Enter corona pass
It is precisely for this reason that half of the entrepreneurs surveyed would like to introduce a corona pass. Anyone who has not been vaccinated or cannot present a recent negative test would not be allowed to come to work. Although companies with more than 50 employees have recently been able to request the vaccination coverage in their organization through their occupational physician, this appears to be insufficient for the 47,2% and they would like to know exactly who has been vaccinated and who has not.
Legally impossible
“Of course we understand employers: they are legally obliged to ensure the health of their employees. And knowing whether colleagues in the workplace have been vaccinated or have recently taken a negative test can contribute to this,” says Matthias Debruyckere, legal expert at Liantis. “But for the time being, it is impossible as an employer to request a corona pass from your employees. The law simply doesn't allow that. In addition, employees should be free to decide whether or not to be vaccinated. Finally, it is not allowed at all for an employer to request medical data from his or her staff.”
sensitization
36% of the employers surveyed try to raise awareness in the workplace as much as possible in order to convince people of the usefulness of vaccinations. 25% would also like to offer corona vaccines in the workplace in the future.
“It is a good thing that employers make their employees aware. We support them in various ways. In the past, for example, we set up Whatsapp lines and looked for ways to reach and inform employees as effectively as possible. As an occupational physician, we also see a lot of employees every day with whom we can talk confidentially about their choice of whether or not to be vaccinated. As long as there is no vaccination obligation, this is currently the most effective way to increase vaccination coverage. With regard to injections, we ensure good contacts between employers and the vaccination centers so that their mobile injection teams can visit the site if the vaccination rate is low," concludes Sylvia Vanden Avenne, head of medical supervision at Liantis.
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