In the case of loss of earnings in the event of a Corona quarantine, the state has so far stepped in. Now, the first federal states want to pull an already existing legal regulation and end the entitlement for unvaccinated people.
This Wednesday, the health ministers want to discuss a preferably uniform line. What has been valid so far, and what should change? Important questions and answers at a glance.
Which cases of quarantine are we talking about?
If you are suspected of being infected, for example as a contact person of infected persons, the health department can order you to go into quarantine – and you cannot go to the office or to work. However, this is increasingly becoming an issue for people who have not yet been vaccinated. This is because quarantine requirements usually do not apply to those who have been fully vaccinated.
Who has paid the compensation so far and who has received it?
Up to now, employees who could not work because of quarantine orders and therefore had to suffer financial losses can receive compensation. In concrete terms, the employer makes an advance payment – and can then apply to have the money reimbursed by the state.
As the Federal Ministry of Health explains, compensation can be granted in the full amount of the loss for six weeks. At the beginning of the seventh week, compensation of 67 per cent of the loss of earnings can be granted – for a full month, however, a maximum amount of 2016 euros.
What should change now?
The Infection Protection Act already contains exceptions for non-vaccinated people – it has just not been applied yet. Specifically, it states that there is no entitlement to compensation if the ordered quarantine could have been avoided by a publicly recommended vaccination. The same applies if one has made an “avoidable trip” to a Corona risk area with high infection rates abroad and then has to go into quarantine after returning.
In which federal states are there already initiatives?
The responsibility for implementation ultimately lies with the Länder, although a uniform federal approach is being sought. Nevertheless: Some Länder have already made a push. Baden-Württemberg was the first state to decide to stop compensation for unvaccinated persons for loss of earnings – and to implement it as of 15 September.
The state government justified the timing by saying that by mid-September everyone had had a chance to be vaccinated. There are exceptions for people who cannot take advantage of a vaccination for medical reasons, for example.
Rhineland-Palatinate wants to implement this on 1 October. In Bremen and North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, the governments are planning similar steps in October.
Should wages no longer be paid even in the case of a Covid 19 infection?
Yes, it is. “It is about wage compensation for contact persons of infected persons in quarantine – not about continued payment of wages in case of illness,” emphasises a spokeswoman of the Federal Ministry of Health. “Anyone who becomes infected is sick and is entitled to it.” So if a worker falls ill with Corona, he or she will continue to be paid – even if unvaccinated.
Sources : ZDF
