On 16 September, following weeks of negotiations with social partners, regional authorities, and the various parties that make up the governing majority, Italy’s Council of Ministers approved a decree (yet to be published in the country’s official gazette) that requires all workers to present a Covid-19 health pass – showing they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, are recovering from the virus, or have recently tested negative – in order to enter their place of work. The measure will apply from 15 October until 31 December 2021, when the state of health emergency comes to an end. Workers without a health pass will be suspended without pay and those found in their workplace without a pass will be fined. It will be up to employers to organise checks. The move is the first of its kind by a European country.
In what is a small revolution in the world of work in Italy, all workers will be required to have a health pass and to present it to access their workplace between 15 October and 31 December. According to the Italian press, this measure concerns 23 million people (private employees, civil servants and even many self-employed workers). The compulsory health pass represents a new approach to occupational health and safety amid the pandemic, which goes far beyond the spring 2020 protocols (see articles n°12463, 11720, 11883 and 11905).
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