Questions and answers on the green pass in the workplace

As announced in mid-September, on October 15, all workers, both in the public and private sectors, are required to have a green pass. Those who have had a dose or two of the covid-19 vaccine, those who have recovered in the past six months, and those in possession of a quick negative antigenic swab done in the past 48 hours, can obtain green certification, on paper and digitally, or 72 in case of molecular buffer.

The measures established by the Draghi government are among the most severe in the world, and have the declared purpose of further incentivising the vaccination campaign, to which 77.3 percent of the population and 84.8 percent of people have joined at the moment. vaccinable. About 5.5 million Italians and Italians of working age have not yet been vaccinated: 14.1 percent of people between 20 and 29 years old, 19.4 percent of those between 30 and 39 years old, 18.5 percent of those between 40 and 49, 14.2 percent of those between 50 and 59 and 10.8 percent of those between 60 and 69.

Among the actual workers, it is not yet clear exactly how many are unvaccinated: current estimates range from 2.5 to five million.

Here is how the obligation of green certification works according to what is stated by the government in the dpcm September 16, 2021 and in the decree law of October 12, 2021.

Starting from October 15th, it is mandatory for anyone working in the public and private sector, with any type of contract and at any level, to be in possession of the green pass. This includes all employees, including those of companies that contract catering, cleaning, maintenance, distribution services, as well as all consultants and collaborators, even if they are self-employed.

People who have received the ReiThera vaccine in the trial phase, those in possession of a vaccination certificate issued by the authorities of the Republic of San Marino and those who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons on the basis of appropriate medical certification, because they are immunosuppressed, are exempt. or of particularly fragile health. There is no numerical estimate for the latter category.

It is up to the employers – whether they are office managers, managers or legal representatives of a company – to check if the worker is in possession of a green pass. It is possible to designate a delegate to do it on their behalf, in compliance with the procedures established by the decree and by the privacy regulations. In the case of self-employed workers, the client, the person who entered into the collaboration or consultancy contract or the owners of the place where one physically goes to work is considered an “employer”. For example, the certification of domestic workers – such as housekeepers, babysitters or carers – should be checked by the family where they work.

Employers are given a lot of freedom in this regard. The check can take place every day at the entrance – making working hours more flexible to avoid delays and queues – or on a random basis, on a group of not less than 20 percent of the staff present, in rotation to ensure the verification of all staff. The government has made available the free Verification C-19 app to scan the QR code on the certifications.

Law Decree 139 allows employers to ask in advance if the worker has a green pass in order to know how many people to rely on in scheduling shifts and tasks.

Anyone without a green pass in the workplace is considered unjustified absent and will not receive any salary or contributions or various emoluments on the days in which he is without one. If the checks are random, the workers present found without a green pass will receive a fine ranging from 600 to 1,500 euros, which can be doubled in the event of repeated violation. However, they cannot be suspended or fired under any circumstances for this reason. As regards the public administration, the days of unjustified absence do not contribute to the accrual of holidays and involve the loss of seniority of service.

Only companies with fewer than 15 employees can replace a worker for up to ten days.

Police, military, public officials, local health company personnel, and labor inspectors can carry out checks to make sure an employer is checking green passes. In case of shortcomings, there is a fine from 400 to one thousand euros.

Companies that choose to carry out random checks will not be fined if the authorities confirm that the checks have in any case been carried out in compliance with the provisions.

Employers can keep track of the date and time of the verification, who carried it out and whether the green pass was valid or not, but they cannot keep any documents that include sensitive worker data, including documents, certificates of any kind, results of swabs and copies of green certifications. It is explicitly forbidden to process the information detected by the qr code and any other data obtained during the checks for purposes other than those envisaged.

The obligation will be in force until the end date of the state of health emergency, which is currently set for December 31, 2021.

The Ministry of the Interior has issued a circular in which it advises companies in the logistics sector to pay swabs to unvaccinated employees, to avoid “any defections due to the lack of green passes that could cause a serious impairment of airport operations” . The entire logistics chain is under pressure, given that the absence of a single person is enough to delay or block a delivery and 30 percent of hauliers are not vaccinated, according to estimates by Conftrasporto-Confcommercio. This is also because many hauliers are foreigners, and therefore vaccinated with drugs not recognized in Italy or not vaccinated.

Concerns have also been raised about the functioning of local transport and for small businesses in the craft and trade sector, which fear that they will not be able to find enough skilled staff.

According to a recent survey of six thousand respondents by the EngageMinds Hub research center, 60 percent of Italians consider certification “a measure of social responsibility”. 56 percent think that the green pass is effective in reducing infections and 55 percent that it is right to prevent access to the workplace for those who do not have it.

“From a regulatory point of view, today there are no elements that allow you to avoid the green pass. There are two options: either we abide by the rule or challenge it in front of the constitutional court stating that the rule is unconstitutional, on the basis of some violation of freedom, which I however do not see at the moment “, Maurizio told Essenziale. del Conte, full professor of labor law at Bocconi University.

Curated by Viola Stefanello