Statement by the members of the Business Leaders Forum: We support the proposal of a consortium of experts to introduce COVID passports into a workplace

“We are an important part of society, and therefore we want to actively contribute to improving the situation in Slovakia. However, the current legislation does not allow us to fully protect our employees, which threatens the operation of the companies,” says Richard Marko, President of the BLF and the CEO of ESET.

The current legislation does not allow employers to find out whether employees are vaccinated, have a negative coronavirus test or whether they have overcome the disease. Hence, it is practically impossible to adapt the workplace regime so that everyone feels safe and the spread of contagious disease is minimised. At the same time, employees spend significantly more time at work than, for example, in restaurants, fitness centres or cinemas. Besides, they often spend time in common rooms, such as changing rooms, dining rooms or showers, where it is not possible to ensure that the employees wear  protective face masks or respirators all the time.

“Therefore, we welcome the current proposal of a panel of experts to introduce COVID passports into the workplace. For this reason, we call on the Government of the Slovak Republic, the Public Health Office and all competent authorities to create a comprehensive legal framework to enable employers to better assess and choose measures to maintain a safe working environment,” states R. Marko.

The Business Leaders Forum proposes that employers have the right to regulate access to the workplace under the so-called OTP regime (vaccinated, tested, overcome) and according to the current measures. Also, they suggest that it be considered an obstacle on the part of the employee if the given certificates are not submitted. The solution should include securing funding for state testing. According to employers, these measures could help reduce the spread of the coronavirus in companies operating in Slovakia.