Photo: Wilfried Pohnke/Pixabay
An active vaccination campaign against coronavirus infection COVID-19 continues in Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Health, by the end of August, more than 5.2 million people were vaccinated with one dose, more than 3.4 million Ukrainians received two doses of the vaccine.
At the moment, vaccination against COVID-19 is not regulated by normative legal acts and is not mandatory for citizens of Ukraine. At the same time, it is possible that in the future vaccination for certain categories of citizens may be recognized as mandatory at the legislative level.
Many Governments impose strict sanctions for refusing to vaccinate, ranging from a ban on visiting public places (in the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia) to fines (in Spain, Sweden, and Indonesia) and imprisonment (in Thailand and New Zealand).
has prepared answers to the most common questions about vaccination in Ukraine.
Employees of what field are required to be vaccinated
Currently, only preventive vaccinations against diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, poliomyelitis, tetanus, and tuberculosis are considered mandatory in Ukraine.
In accordance with the law "On the protection of the population from infectious diseases", a certain category of workers of certain professions, industries and organizations, whose activities may lead to the spread of infectious diseases, are subject to mandatory prophylactic vaccinations against other relevant infectious diseases. The list of such categories of persons is clearly established by separate acts of legislation. In particular, this category includes persons whose work is related to the public service and can lead to the spread of infectious diseases, for example, medical workers.
Daria Skoblikova
Lawyer at Investment Service Ukraine
Does the employer have to provide vaccinations to the employee
Currently, an employee of any enterprise, institution, and organization can independently be vaccinated against COVID-19 in any of the vaccination centers in Ukraine. wrote earlier, how to get the second dose of the vaccine.
In order to organize vaccination against COVID-19 at an enterprise, institution or organization, the head must designate a responsible employee by order who will submit an application through the contact center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine for the visit of a mobile brigade.
Before the arrival of the mobile team, it is necessary to prepare the following at the enterprise:
- a room for vaccination;
- a room for medical observation after vaccination;
- masks that cover the mouth and nose, 1 pc. for each employee for every 2 hours.
If the employer insists on vaccination. Consequences of a refusal
Refusal of an employee to vaccinate cannot be a reason for dismissal, says Liudmila Kusa, lawyer at Gracers Law Firm.
The list of grounds for the dismissal of an employee is provided for in Art. 46 of the Labor Code of Ukraine, therefore, the dismissal of an employee on such grounds will be illegal, and the order of dismissal must be appealed in court. It is possible to suspend an employee of certain professions from work in accordance with Art. 46 of the Labor Code of Ukraine and Art. 22 of the Law "On the Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases" if he or she is a carrier of bacteria and refuses compulsory preventive vaccination, which can lead to the spread of an infectious disease, and cannot be transferred to another job. In this case, the suspended employee is paid a temporary disability benefit.
Liudmila Kusa
lawyer at Gracers Law Firm
It is important to remember that the time of suspension from work is not taken into account in the length of service that gives the right to annual leave (Art. 82 of the Labor Code of Ukraine and Art. 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Leaves"), the lawyer notes.
"It should be noted that the dismissal of an employee if the latter refuses to vaccinate against Covid is illegal," Kusa explains.
At the same time, lawyers advise to obtain from the employer a duly formalized requirement for vaccination, and in return provide a duly formalized response with a refusal if you do not agree with the requirement or do not want to be vaccinated.
If you are suspended from work due to a refusal to vaccinate, you should seek an appropriate decision from management. Based on the decision and the specified documents, you have the right to go to court and appeal against the suspension.
Mistake in the text? Please select it and press: Ctrl + Enter
