In France, various employers are allowed to ask their workers if they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 because the law explicitly provides for this for professions in the health sector. Those who refuse to get vaccinated can be forced to stay at home whilst their wages are withheld.
However, things are different in Luxembourg, says lawyer Guy Castegnaro, who specialises in labour law. Here, no employer is allowed to require people to be vaccinated because there is no law for it.
Simply put, everything is on a voluntary basis. It would be discrimination to sanction employees who are not vaccinated. The employer is also not allowed to ask new candidates to show their vaccination certificate because this information falls under data and personal protection.
For the same reason, the employer may not force anyone to carry out a CovidCheck. Guy Castegnaro explains that a person’s vaccination status - whether against coronavirus or against other diseases - has no influence on their ability to work.
Of course, the employer still has the responsibility to guarantee the health of their employees and customers. To do so, certain measures must exist to reduce the risk of infection.
At the moment, however, companies do not really know what to expect, says Jean-Paul Olinger, Director of the Luxembourgish Business Union.
In the health sector, the situation is quite different. A general obligation to vaccinate would not make sense, says Jean-Lux De Matteis of the OGBL.
He believes that it would make more sense to convince people to get vaccinated; forcing them is not the right way.
As the work-from-home scheme will only last until the end of the month, it should be determined whether measures can be adapted or if they can be abolished altogether, as is the case in other countries.
Jean-Paul Olinger thinks that a voluntary CovidCheck system could be helpful so that companies can situate themselves. How many are vaccinated, how many are not? In this way, one can decide on health measures, for example, whether or not the mask has to be worn in the office.
Together with the Ministry of Health, the business union is currently designing a questionnaire for employers and employees alike. With this, they hope to determine why different people do not want to get vaccinated, with a possibility of launching a campaign later.
