Employer's right to ban unvaccinated (COVID-19) employees from the workplace in Israel and Poland

The article deals with the problem of presence of employees unvaccinated against COVID-19 at the workplaces. Medical research conclusions show, that presence of unvaccinated person increase risk of infection also for vaccinated individuals. In debate on possibility of exclusion of unvaccinated workers from a workplaces the clash of values has to be considered. On the one hand there is a right to privacy, dignity and freedom of occupation, on the other hand right to life, right to safe working environment, protection from diseases and limitation of employer's economic risks. Israeli labour courts in described cases approved ban of workplace access for unvaccinated persons, in situations where it was the only way to protect other people from COVID-19 infection. Still if there were other sufficient measures, the ban of access was lifted. Article describes also legal situation in Poland, where employer's access to data on worker's vaccination is under discussion and relevant legal regulations should be amended. However there are no legal measures of banning employee access to the workplace, the dismissal based on lack of vaccination should be accepted, if any other measures of infection control are not accessible.

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