Please do not forget to ensure mandatory testing of employees
All employers are required to ensure that employees are tested with an antigene test (self-test/test performed by a health care provider) at least once a week; the first testing should take place no later than 29 November 2021.
The following employees are not required to be tested:
- those that have been vaccinated against Covid-19 if at least 14 days have elapsed since the completion of the vaccination schedule,
- those having had laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 for whom the period of ordered isolation has expired and no more than 180 days have elapsed since the first positive test for SARS-CoV-2,
- those that have undergone a negative SARS-CoV-2 virus test within the last 7 days, either an RT-PCR test or a rapid antigene test for SARS-CoV-2 antigen (performed by a health care professional).
If a non-exempt employee refuses to be tested, the procedure is as follows:
- the employer must report it to the locally competent regional health station;
- the employee must wear a respirator at all times when present at the workplace;
- the employee must keep a distance of at least 1.5 m from other persons; and
- the employee must eat separately from other persons (this must be ensured by the employer through organisational arrangements).
Employers must keep a record of the tests carried out (the date of testing and names of persons tested on that date) for monitoring purposes.
If the test result is positive, the employee must immediately inform his/her employer, leave the workplace and, if the test was not carried out by a doctor, inform his/her doctor (or, under certain conditions, the company doctor or a health station), who are obliged to request a confirmatory RT-PCR test without delay. The absence at the workplace until the result of the confirmatory test is available constitutes an impediment on the part of the employer (i.e. it is subject to wage compensation).