Since Monday of this week, people in Austria with a positive Covid test no longer have to go into quarantine at home. If you don’t feel sick, you can wear an FFP2 mask almost anywhere – even to work.
Most grocers want to implement this regulation due to the currently around 19,000 vacancies and let symptom-free Covid infected people work. Every hand is currently needed to maintain ongoing operations, Spar Austria explained in a contribution from Ö1. For example, positive but symptom-free employees should be deployed in branches, but “only in areas far from customers,” said Deputy Chairman Hans Reisch on Thursday. Those affected would not work at the cash desk or in the delicatessen department at Spar, “as long as the personnel situation allows it,” said Reisch.
Employees at Rewe, Lidl and Hofer should also come to work without symptoms. Lidl also wants to put Covid-infected people at the checkout, whereby they should be used in areas without customer contact if possible. Hofer is considering separating infected people without illness through individual workstations.
Union criticism
“Many do not have a good feeling in the company, both superiors, employers and colleagues, working side by side with corona positives,” said GPA Chairwoman Barbara Teiber on Monday. She also fears situations in everyday work where employees with masks are automatically assumed to be positive.
The trade association criticized the omission of compensation for corona-related sick leave, since without a notice of separation the employer is not entitled to compensation for the loss of earnings of separated employees.
Source: Nachrichten
