Filenews 10 July 2021 - by Adamos Adamou
Significant changes in all workplaces are introduced by the latest decree of the Ministry of Health, which officially entered into force yesterday, since, now mandatory, all employees will have to have SafePass to work.
This means that workers to go to their daily work in the public and private sectors must have a vaccination certificate, alternatively they must have been sick or have a negative rapid test carried out within 72 hours.
As specifically stated in the new Decree 'all workers, including self-employed workers, must possess either a negative laboratory examination or a rapid antigen detection test for COVID19 disease with sampling carried out within 72 hours, or a vaccination certificate from the Republic for COVID-19 disease at least at one dose and provided that a period of three weeks has passed after the date of vaccination , or proof of release in the case of persons ill with COVID-19 disease and provided that no period of six months has passed since the date of sampling of their initial positive diagnosis: It is understood that employers must ensure that their employees comply with the provisions of this Regulation.'
Otherwise, they'd think about it.
Initially the feeling that existed with the Decisions of the Ministry was that SafePass would apply in workplaces with more than 20 people, but this is no longer the case, on the basis of the official decree which, as mentioned, does not exclude self-employed persons from this obligation either.
This regulation replaces the practice followed up to the day before yesterday, under the previous decree of the Ministry of Health, which required workers to undergo a rapid antigen detection test for COVID-19 disease on the basis of the guidelines of the Ministry of Health. This obligation again excludes those who have been sick and those who hold a vaccination certificate from the Republic.
However, the compulsory use of SafePass in the workplace has not provoked any reactions, at least from the business world, as opposed to the reintroduction of the measure to leisure centres. This is due to the fact that the use of SafePass for all employees was in fact a common request of the employers' organisations OEV and KEVE and other professional associations, including PASYXE and STEK, as recorded in a letter sent to the President of the Republic on the 1st of the month, in view of the decisions that the government would take to deal with the outbreak of the pandemic and in order to avoid the possibility of a new lockdown.
Certificate from KD
However, the provision that requires that the vaccination certificate come from the Republic (which is also in the new decree) seems to cause some problems for companies with workers from abroad - who have completed their vaccination programme in their countries - and is one of the issues that we are informed will be raised, at least by the OED , in a meeting soon with the new Minister of Health.
The measure, under the decree, will be in force until the end of July. However, if it is extended to August, it is expected to provoke reactions, since in such a case those workers who need a rapid test every three days will have to pay for it themselves, as from 1 August the provision of the free rapid antigen test program is terminated.
