{"id":40036,"date":"2022-05-29T16:16:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-29T14:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/7-most-common-employer-s-dilemmas-on-non-mandatory-workplace-vaccination\/"},"modified":"2025-05-13T10:30:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T08:30:59","slug":"employee-vaccination-in-serbia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/employee-vaccination-in-serbia\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Common Employer\u2019s Dilemmas on (Non) Mandatory Workplace Vaccination"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The number of people infected with COVID-19 in the Republic of Serbia is dropping every day, which resulted in the gradual return of employees back to the employer\u2019s premises<\/a>. Given the prevailing attitude that the vaccination influenced the significantly better epidemic position in Serbia, there are more and more dilemmas regarding those employees who have not yet been vaccinated and are returning to their positions (in larger or smaller) teams. In the following text, we have selected several frequent questions of employers, and answers to them, to solve some of the most common doubts of employers regarding their rights when it comes to employee vaccination in Serbia.<\/p><\/div><\/section>

Although at first glance, the topic of vaccination seems to be a matter of \u201cindividual\u201d importance that relates only to the individual who does (not) think about getting the vaccine, this topic is gaining traction from the collective aspect as well. This is supported by the fact that the number of questions increases day by day, regarding the rights of employers to influence the decision of employees on whether to get vaccinated or not, i.e., whether they will get tested for coronavirus, and notify their employer of the results.<\/p>

Specifically, several questions came up as the most common.<\/p><\/div><\/section>

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1. How Can the Employer Motivate the Employees to Get Vaccinated?<\/h2><\/div>

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The employer\u2019s natural tendency is to take all preventive measures to minimize the risk of the infection entering and spreading throughout the company. Still, the boundary between justified prevention and forbidden \u201cencouragement\u201d is quite thin, so employers should be particularly careful<\/a> when it comes to the stimulation of employees regarding vaccination.<\/p><\/div><\/section>

In practice, the most \u201cinnocent\u201d and the most acceptable type of stimulation would be to transparently allow employees to take a day off work when going to get vaccinated.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Many companies have decided to take a step further and encourage, i.e., reward those individuals who decide to get the vaccine, by financial or other means of employee rewards<\/a>.<\/p>

Employers are not prohibited from acting this way but are praised by a large part of the public, as this is considered a positive influence of companies on raising awareness of the necessity of herd immunity. The Serbian Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy (hereinafter: the Ministry<\/strong>), issued an official opinion on June 2, 2021, on whether cash incentives for vaccinated employees are allowed. The Ministry pointed out that the Labor Law allows the employer to foresee the employee\u2019s \u201cother income\u201d by the Employer\u2019s General Act, i.e., by the Employment Agreement, where such a bonus could be classified. During the implementation of these stimulations, one still must be careful, so that the employer\u2019s good intention does not get misinterpreted or even interpreted as discrimination against employees who do not wish to get vaccinated.<\/p><\/div><\/section>

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2. Is the Employer Allowed to Openly Support Vaccination, and in What Manner?<\/h2><\/div>

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The employer may raise employees\u2019 awareness of the benefits of vaccination by their own actions, as well as openly show support to the competent authorities regarding vaccination. So, there are no obstacles for you to directly share your position on vaccination with your employees, as well as to use that chance to get to know their position.<\/p>

Besides informal chit-chats with employees, by introducing acts issued by the competent authorities upon lifting the state of emergency, employers are allowed to take specific measures regarding prevention at the workplace. Since the acts are mostly adopted in the form of recommendations, they are not binding, so the employers decide whether they will implement those recommendations and to what extent.<\/p><\/div><\/section>

For example, if the conditions for the recommended distance between individuals are not met in the business premises, you can oblige your employees to wear masks to reduce the possibility of transmitting the infection to a minimum.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Also, if vaccination is discussed openly within your company, and you are aware of the fact that most of the employees are vaccinated, it would be justified to ask the people who have not received the vaccine to wear masks, in addition to the preventive measures of hygiene at the workplace. Since they have not received the vaccine, there is a higher risk of spreading the infection.<\/p>

The mandatory prevention measures differ and depend on the place of your company\u2019s registered seat, for example, since the state of emergency has been lifted in Novi Sad, there is no longer an obligation to wear masks in private, closed spaces (such as the employer\u2019s premises), while the obligation to mask mandate which was enforced in Belgrade has now been reduced to the level of a recommendation. Although the situation is similar in most cities, whether the employees are obliged to wear masks at the workplace, or whether the employer has the possibility to determine the obligation for the employees on their own still depends on the city you are situated in.<\/p><\/div><\/section>

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3. Does the Employer Have the Right to Check and Keep Records on Vaccinated Employees?<\/h2><\/div>

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From the aspect of the Law on Personal Data Protection, data about whether the employee has gotten the vaccine represents health-related information, so it is classified as highly sensitive data, to which special rules of processing apply. Considering the specific nature of those data, the employer must fulfill the conditions foreseen by the law, to justify the reasons for the collection and processing of data<\/a>, by which those conditions are stricter in comparison to the processing of personal data which does not fall under this category.<\/p>

Still, there are certain grounds that the Law on Personal Data Protection prescribes, which could be applied to the data on vaccination \u2013 for example, the employer, under the law, has the right to process health data to achieve a significant public interest determined by the law, if that kind of processing is proportionate to achieving that aim. In that situation, the employer also has to secure the implementation of appropriate and special measures<\/a> of protecting the employees\u2019 rights, by also adhering to the basic principles of the Law on Personal Data Protection<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/section>

In this case, \u201ca significant public interest\u201d might be considered interest for preserving and improving the health of the citizens, which is foreseen by the Law on Public Health, i.e., the interest for the protection of the citizens from infectious diseases is regulated by the Law on Protection of Citizens from Infectious Diseases.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section>

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4. Are Employees Obliged to Notify the Employer of the Fact that They Did (Not) Get Tested? Is the Employee Obliged to Notify the Employer if the test results are positive?<\/h2><\/div>

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The same rules apply when it comes to the COVID-19 test results \u2013 by referencing the appropriate legal basis foreseen by the personal data protection regulations, the employer would have the right to process data regarding the tests of employees and to keep a record of it. However, individual employees are not obliged to, self initiatively, notify the employer of whether they have gotten tested.<\/p>

There is an exception in the case when the result of the COVID test shows that the employee is infected. Namely, the Rulebook on Preventive Measures for Safe and Healthy Work, for hindering the occurrence and spread of the epidemic of infectious disease<\/a>s, which was adopted in July 2020 (hereinafter: Rulebook) foresees that, among other things, the employee\u2019s obligation is:<\/p>