Mandatory Vaccination against COVID-19 in the Employment Relationship

In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the paper analyzes mandatory vaccination in employment relationships in European countries. The paper focuses on three subtopics: who is competent to establish the mandatory vaccination requirement, in which positions mandatory vaccination is justified, and...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Merle Erikson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Bologna 2022-12-01
Series:Italian Labour Law e-Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://illej.unibo.it/article/view/15792
_version_ 1798004325954355200
author Merle Erikson
author_facet Merle Erikson
author_sort Merle Erikson
collection DOAJ
description In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the paper analyzes mandatory vaccination in employment relationships in European countries. The paper focuses on three subtopics: who is competent to establish the mandatory vaccination requirement, in which positions mandatory vaccination is justified, and what the employer can do if the employee refuses the mandatory vaccination. The paper concludes that since the obligation to vaccinate significantly infringes on the employee’s fundamental rights, such a requirement can preferably be imposed by the state, and it must always be purposeful, appropriate, and proportionate. Vaccination can be mandatory in areas of activity determined by the state and workplaces where the employee is constantly and unavoidably in close contact with other persons. Since COVID-19 is a new and changing disease, and vaccination does not prevent infection, refusal of vaccination cannot be the basis for terminating an employee’s employment contract.
first_indexed 2024-04-11T12:21:43Z
format Article
id doaj.art-a57b125def434bfcbef537affab21e2b
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1561-8048
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-11T12:21:43Z
publishDate 2022-12-01
publisher University of Bologna
record_format Article
series Italian Labour Law e-Journal
spelling doaj.art-a57b125def434bfcbef537affab21e2b2022-12-22T04:24:04ZengUniversity of BolognaItalian Labour Law e-Journal1561-80482022-12-01152374910.6092/issn.1561-8048/1579214137Mandatory Vaccination against COVID-19 in the Employment RelationshipMerle Erikson0University of TartuIn light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the paper analyzes mandatory vaccination in employment relationships in European countries. The paper focuses on three subtopics: who is competent to establish the mandatory vaccination requirement, in which positions mandatory vaccination is justified, and what the employer can do if the employee refuses the mandatory vaccination. The paper concludes that since the obligation to vaccinate significantly infringes on the employee’s fundamental rights, such a requirement can preferably be imposed by the state, and it must always be purposeful, appropriate, and proportionate. Vaccination can be mandatory in areas of activity determined by the state and workplaces where the employee is constantly and unavoidably in close contact with other persons. Since COVID-19 is a new and changing disease, and vaccination does not prevent infection, refusal of vaccination cannot be the basis for terminating an employee’s employment contract.https://illej.unibo.it/article/view/15792covid-19mandatory vaccinationfundamental rightsthe principle of proportionalitytermination of employment contract
spellingShingle Merle Erikson
Mandatory Vaccination against COVID-19 in the Employment Relationship
Italian Labour Law e-Journal
covid-19
mandatory vaccination
fundamental rights
the principle of proportionality
termination of employment contract
title Mandatory Vaccination against COVID-19 in the Employment Relationship
title_full Mandatory Vaccination against COVID-19 in the Employment Relationship
title_fullStr Mandatory Vaccination against COVID-19 in the Employment Relationship
title_full_unstemmed Mandatory Vaccination against COVID-19 in the Employment Relationship
title_short Mandatory Vaccination against COVID-19 in the Employment Relationship
title_sort mandatory vaccination against covid 19 in the employment relationship
topic covid-19
mandatory vaccination
fundamental rights
the principle of proportionality
termination of employment contract
url https://illej.unibo.it/article/view/15792
work_keys_str_mv AT merleerikson mandatoryvaccinationagainstcovid19intheemploymentrelationship