The employer has the right to know if his employee has been infected with a coronavirus. GDPR legislation is receding.

The employer has the right to know if his employee has been infected with a coronavirus. GDPR legislation is receding.

It is common practice that employers should be aware of their employees' medical diagnosis. Conditions are changing and the coronavirus epidemic has caused that employer needs to know whether his worker was infected or not.

Health is a sensitive information

In general, we classify the state of health as a sensitive data, while having a certain degree of protection. The GDPR or even the legislation on personal data protection has further strengthened this protection.

In the past, the employer received a medical certificate stating that the worker is unable to work. Nowadays, in the era of coronavirus, everything has changed.

The crisis changes the rules

The employer has the right to know whether his employee was infected or not. Information on the health status of a worker regarding COVID-19 virus infection has precisely specified conditions. The law allows the employer to handle this information in the given circumstances.

The role of the employer is to create a healthy and safe environment in which work is performed. If the employers want to comply with the law, they can also handle sensitive data, which would normally have special protection.