As of next month, company doctors in Germany will be able to make a full contribution to the Covid-19 vaccination campaign at firms across the country. According to VDBW, Germany's association of occupational physicians, some 12,000 company doctors could vaccinate close to 5 million employees per month. However, the administering of vaccines in the workplace raises many legal questions. Can an employer oblige or only encourage their employees to get vaccinated? Can a business know which of its staff have been vaccinated? Can and should an employer treat vaccinated and unvaccinated employees differently? Dr Felix Oelkers, LL.M. (UCT), a lawyer specialising in employment law at Brehm & v. Moers, answered our questions.
- Many large German companies, including Adidas, Audi and BMW, have declared their willingness to participate in the Covid-19 vaccination campaign and to call on their company doctors to vaccinate their employees. What questions does this raise for employers under current labour law?
First of all, vaccination can only be carried out on a voluntary basis. Since the Bundestag has not yet passed any law requiring employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19, no employee can be forced to be...
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