Vaccination Leave: 10 Questions and Answers

The federal parliament has passed a law granting the right to short-term leave to employees who get vaccinated against the COVID-19 coronavirus during their work hours. In this article, we address a number of practical questions. The federal parliament has passed a law granting employees the right to short-term leave if they get vaccinated against the COVID-19 coronavirus during their working hours. The law takes effect on April 9, 2021. This new regulation raises many practical questions for both employers and employees. Below, we’ve compiled 10 questions and answers to get you started.

Employees will have the right to take time off from work without loss of pay to get vaccinated against the coronavirus during working hours. The employer cannot refuse this request.

This right to time off is, however, limited to the time required for the vaccination, including travel time to the vaccination center. No less, but also no more. If the employee’s various vaccinations all take place during working hours, the right to short-term leave is granted for each required injection. The exact duration will therefore vary for each person, but it is certainly not a full day of leave.

An employee must meet certain conditions to be eligible for vaccination leave:

• The employee must notify the employer in advance. This must be done as soon as possible once the employee knows the time of the vaccination.
• The employee must use the leave for the purpose for which it was granted.

At the employer’s request, the employee must provide proof. In principle, confirmation of the appointment to be present at a specific time at a location where the vaccination is administered is sufficient. If this confirmation does not specify when the employee must be present at a location where the vaccination is administered, the employee must also provide his or her invitation.

If an employee becomes ill after receiving the vaccine and is unable to work as a result, the standard rules for incapacity for work apply: notifying the employer, submitting a doctor’s note if required by a collective bargaining agreement or the company’s employment regulations, guaranteed sick pay, etc.

The employer may use the employee’s vaccination information solely for the purpose of organizing work and maintaining accurate payroll records. For privacy reasons, the employer is not permitted to make a copy of the appointment confirmation in any form or to manually transcribe the information it contains, with the exception of the time of the appointment. The employer is also prohibited from recording or maintaining a record of the reason for the short-term absence or the employee’s potential health issues.

The employer must record the absence as a “standard” short-term absence using the usual code or notation used to indicate short-term absences, so that it cannot be distinguished from other cases of short-term absence. The specific reason for the short-term absence must not be stated. The employee retains his or her normal wages during the absence.

If the employee in question worked that day, he or she is entitled to a meal voucher.

The right to take time off for vaccination is treated exactly the same as “traditional” short-term leave (marriage, death, etc.). This means that pay for the hours of absence is calculated in accordance with the legislation governing public holidays.

The regulation takes effect on April 9, 2021, and will, in principle, expire on December 31, 2021. If circumstances require, this regulation may be extended by royal decree until no later than June 30, 2022.