Obligatory testing of employees

From 12 March 2021 at the latest, employers with 250 and more employees shall allow them to enter the workplace only on the condition that within the last 7 days, they have tested negatively using one of the SARS-CoV-2 tests listed in the measure. The tests shall be provided by the employer. Appropriately, employers have to ask their employees to take the test from 5 March, so that their presence at the workplace under the above conditions is possible on 12 March at the latest. Employers with 50 to 249 employees shall allow entry to the workplace solely to negatively tested employees from 15 March, meaning they have to ask them to test from 8 March. If an employee only works outside the employer’s workplace within the 7-day cycle, the employer shall allow them to take a preventative test outside the workplace.

Employees are obliged to undergo the test. The duty to test does not apply to employees working from home and to employees who have recovered from COVID-19 confirmed by a laboratory test, whose isolation period has elapsed, and who first tested positively no longer than 90 days ago.

Following this measure, another extraordinary measure of the health ministry dated 1 March stipulates duties for employees who on their own or administered by a person that is not a medical professional have taken a SARS-CoV-2 test provided by their employer. Until further notice, if the result is positive, employees are ordered to (i) inform their employer immediately, (ii) leave the workplace for their present place of residence, and (iii) report this immediately to the employer’s healthcare provider (or, under certain circumstances stipulated in the measure, their registering general practitioner, other healthcare provider or a relevant public health protection authority depending on their place of work) to instruct them on how to proceed further.