Until now, employers have paid out the compensation for employees in Covid-19 quarantine according to the Infection Protection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz - IfSG), which the federal state reimbursed them afterwards. However, since 1 November 2021, following a decision by the health ministers’ conference, state compensation for quarantine as a contact person shall be denied to unvaccinated persons with reference to the possibility of vaccination. The same applies to quarantine of unvaccinated persons after return from a travel area that was already classified as a risk area on the outward journey.
It is now important for employers to know whether they can refuse to pay wages to unvaccinated employees in contact quarantine and after-travel quarantine. It is also important to know whether they have the right to ask about the vaccination status of employees in Covid-19 quarantine.