Prepared by Giulia Spalazzi, Marzio Scaglioni, Valentina Panettella and Antonella Carullo
As known, as of tomorrow, October 15th, 2021, the obligation to possess the green pass in the workplace will come into force.
In order to provide employers with suitable IT tools to allow daily and automated verification of the possession of the certifications, the Government has signed a Prime Ministerial Decree containing the procedures for verifying the possession of the green pass in the workplace.
Each company may autonomously organize the operating procedures of the controls, as long as this is done in compliance with privacy regulations and the guidelines issued with the Prime Ministerial Decree of October 12, 2021, designating, with a formal act, the persons responsible for the checks.
It should be pointed out that neither the company nor the person authorized to carry out the checks will be able to:
- keep or acquire a copy of the Green Pass, given the prohibition to process data other than and in addition to the personal data of the interested party;
- request data relating to health;
- request information about the health event (e.g. infection, submission to a swab, vaccine administration, etc.) that generated the Green Pass;
- request the clinical reason for any exemption to vaccination;
- keep the expiration date of the green certification.
These behaviors would integrate, in fact, the processing of personal data, in violation of the legislation on privacy because the owner of the treatment would be devoid of any title, not only to acquire such information and documents, but especially to store personal data contained therein.
The verifications may also be carried out on a sample basis, giving priority to checks at the time of access to workplaces, preferring methods of verification that do not lead to delays or queues at the entrance.
In the event of special organizational needs, the employer may verify the possession of the green pass in advance of the scheduled time of access to the site. In this case, workers will then be required to make notices of non-possession of the green pass with sufficient notice in order to allow the employer to meet those necessities.
In addition to the “VerifyC19” app, specific facilities will be made available to employers that allow daily, automated verification of certification possession. These verifications will be able to take place through:
- the integration of the system for reading and verifying the QR code of the green certificate in physical access control systems, including those for detecting attendance, or temperature;
- for employers with more than 50 employees, the asynchronous interaction between the Institutional Portal INPS and the National Platform-DGC.
Persons who, for proven health reasons, can not make the vaccine against COVID-19, will have to show a certificate containing the appropriate “QR code” being prepared. Pending the release of its application, the exempt staff – after transmission of the relevant health documentation to the competent doctor of the administration – will not be subject to any control, while for those waiting for the release of valid green certification and who are entitled to it, pending the release and any update, it will be possible to use the documents issued, in paper or digital format, by public and private health facilities, pharmacies, laboratories, medical doctors and pediatricians of free choice.
With regard to sanctions, the employer who does not monitor the observance of the rules on the green pass is punished with an administrative sanction ranging from 400 to 1,000 euros, while a worker who does not have a green pass is considered to be unjustifiably absent, with no right to salary, until the green pass is presented.
In the case of companies with less than 15 employees, after the fifth day of unjustified absence, the employer may suspend the worker for the duration corresponding to that of the employment contract entered into for the replacement, however, for a period not exceeding ten days, renewable for one time only.
In the event that the worker accesses the workplace without a green pass, the employer must then make a report to the Prefecture for the purposes of applying the administrative penalty. In fact, the worker who accesses the workplace without a green pass is subject, by order of the Prefect, to an administrative sanction ranging from 600 to 1,500 euros. The disciplinary sanctions that may be provided for by the collective agreements of the sector are also applied.
In addition to remuneration, the worker without a green pass will no longer be paid any other component of remuneration, including social security, fixed and continuous, ancillary or indemnity, provided for the day of work not performed. Days of unjustified absence do not count towards the accrual of vacations and entail the loss of the relative length of service.
Within the described scenario, employers must ensure that the management of payroll records, with particular regard to keeping the Consolidated Labour Book (so called in Italy “LUL”), results adequate and appropriate. In particular, it’s advisable to trace any suspension from work performance by means of an ad hoc paystub item, in order to maintain a complete and consistent mapping of attendance for every preordained legislative and regulatory purpose.
With reference to temporary workers, checks must be carried out both by the temporary employment agency and by the company where the worker works.
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