Decree Law 1/2022 has been published, which, among other general emergency provisions , introduced from 15 February to 15 June 2022 (for the time being) the obligation for employees who have turned 50 years of age (or who will turn them by 15 June 2022) – both private and public employees and freelancers – to have the super green pass (from vaccination or recovery) in order to be able to access work. The system of controls and the consequences in the event of non-possession of the green certificate follow the provisions already in place in relation to the simple green pass: the worker who, from 15 February, does not have the super green pass or is without it at the time of access to the workplace, will be considered “unjustified absentee”, resulting in suspension from work and salary from the first day of absence without disciplinary consequences.
Fragile workers are assigned to different duties for the entire period in which vaccination is omitted or postponed, without any reduction in salary.
The decree has extended the possibility for all companies (including those with more than 15 employees) to suspend employees who do not comply with the super green pass, after the 5th day of unjustified absence, and replace them for the duration corresponding to that of the employment contract stipulated for the replacement for a period not exceeding 10 working days, renewable until 31 March 2022, without disciplinary consequences and with the right to job preservation for the suspended employee.
Finally, a new one-off fine of €100 has been introduced for all over-50s (employees and non-employees) who, as of 1 February 2022, do not comply with the vaccination requirement. The imposition of the sanction is entrusted to the Ministry of Health through the Tax Agency, which will do so by querying the data on the Ministry of Health systems (Health Insurance Card, National Vaccine Registry and SSN).