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Employees without a corona vaccination must expect loss of earnings from November if they are quarantined. What to watch out for.
Frankfurt – A quarantine in times of Corona: * This is a problem especially for employees. In addition to the fear of infection, it is also associated with a great deal of organizational effort. For people in Germany who do not want to be vaccinated against the corona virus, there will be another problem from November 1, 2021.
Because as the federal health ministers of the federal states decided on September 22, 2021, there will then no longer be any compensation for unvaccinated persons in corona quarantine. But what does this decision mean in concrete terms for employees? And what negative consequences do experts warn of?
No compensation for people in quarantine without a corona vaccination: what that means
People in Germany not only have to be quarantined in the event of a positive corona test. According to infektionsschutz.de, the information website of the Federal Center for Health Education, domestic isolation is ordered if:
- A person in the same household tested positive for the coronavirus.
- There was close contact with an infected person for at least ten minutes (without a mask and without a distance of 1.5 meters)
- A person has been in the same room with an infected person for more than ten minutes (regardless of distance and whether or not they are wearing a mask)
- If an infected person was in the same row or in the two rows in front of or behind on a flight of at least five hours (regardless of whether a corona mask was worn)
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However, it is emphasized that the order of a quarantine is at the discretion of the responsible health authority. Vaccinated and convalescent people are excluded under certain conditions. However, there are no exceptions for unvaccinated people who are not considered to have recovered. With serious consequences, for example if a work colleague from the same office tests positive for the coronavirus.
Unvaccinated in corona quarantine: Those who are exempt from loss of wages
The loss of wages does not apply to employees who can also work in the home office. Because they can of course also do their work from home. Also excluded are people who cannot receive a corona vaccine * for medical reasons.
Officials who do not want to be vaccinated are also exempt from the loss of wages in quarantine. This was reported by several media outlets. As the WDR explains, for example, this is due to the fact that their salaries are not viewed as merit, but as alimentation.
No compensation for unvaccinated people in quarantine: does this also apply to an infection?
Previously, in the event of quarantine, it was possible for employees to claim compensation for loss of work and thus wages. The boss could then in turn demand the money paid out from the state. But it was a question of “fairness”, said Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn *, that those who did not want to be vaccinated should also bear the financial risk for it. Because now everyone has the opportunity to get vaccinated, whoever does not should then be responsible for it.
As the Federal Ministry of Health emphasized to tagesschau.de, it is only about the “wage compensation for contact persons of infected people in quarantine – not about the continued payment of wages in the event of illness”. Therefore, the following still applies: People who are infected with Corona are sick and are still entitled to payment – regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not.
Loss of earnings for people without vaccination: What negative consequences do critics fear?
The German Association of Towns and Municipalities welcomes the new regulation in a statement. However, with a critical comment: “In practice, however, this will hardly play a role, since those affected can take sick leave in the event of illness.” As already described, the loss of earnings due to corona quarantine * does not apply if employees have a sick leave from their doctor or a doctor.
The SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach * sees further problems. He told the Rheinische Post: “I even expect that if there is a loss of earnings in quarantine, the willingness to test will decrease”. Lauterbach criticizes: “It is absolutely far from life that people can be tested at their own expense and then, in the event of a positive result, go into quarantine without compensation. That won’t happen. “(Sophia Lother)
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