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Wim Voermans: 'Employers can’t just request a coronavirus entry pass'

The introduction of a compulsory coronavirus entry pass in the workplace is currently being considered behind the scenes. Dutch Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge spoke about this at the press conference on Tuesday 2 November. But such a measure is not without problems.

Wim Voermans

Vaccination is already compulsory for a number of professions, says Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law Wim Voermans on Dutch online news site BN DeStem. 'But that’s only a very small group. Medical specialists who pose a risk because they come into contact with other people’s blood, in situations where this can’t be avoided. These workers have to be vaccinated, for example, against hepatitis B and be tested for this in advance. But there’s a legal basis for this. Otherwise, you can’t just ask an employee to do this.'

Voermans says that there must at least be a legal basis for a compulsory coronavirus entry pass in the workplace. 'In accordance with our Constitution, this must be an Act of Parliament. So an Act that has been approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate and is adopted with a majority of votes in both Houses of Parliament.'

But that’s not all. Besides our Constitution, there is also the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which includes a number of freedoms such as the right to privacy and to physical integrity. 'If you take a measure that limits ECHR rights of citizens, then this must also be in line with the proportionality principle and subsidiarity principle.'

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