DATA PROTECTION
Vaccinations in the workplace: the Italian Data Protection Guidelines.
The Italian Data Protection Authority has adopted a policy document on vaccination in the workplace, to provide general information on the processing of personal data, pending a definitive regulatory framework.
The implementation of vaccination plans for the activation of extraordinary anti-Covid-19 vaccination points in the workplace, provided for by the National Protocol of 6 April 2021, constitutes a public health initiative, which is why general responsibility and supervision the entire process remains the responsibility of the Regional Health Service and must be implemented in compliance with the regulations on data protection.
Respect for the traditional division of competences between the competent doctor and the employer must also be ensured for vaccination in the workplace, highlighted in the document on the role of the competent doctor in workplace safety, now available on the Authority's website.
In the address document, the Italian Data Protection Authority specifies that the main data processing activities - from the collection of subscriptions, to the administration, to the registration in the regional systems of the vaccination - must be carried out by the competent doctor or other specially identified health personnel. In fact, within the framework of the rules protecting the dignity and freedom of data subjects in the workplace, the employer is not allowed to collect information relating to the intention directly from employees, from the competent doctor, or from other health professionals or health facilities. of the worker to adhere to the campaign or to the administration (or not) of the vaccine and other data relating to his health conditions. Taking into account the imbalance in the relationship between employer and employee, the consent of the worker cannot in these cases constitute a valid prerequisite for processing vaccination data, just as it is not allowed to derive any consequence, neither positive nor negative, from membership. or not at the vaccination campaign.
(Source: Web site garanteprivacy.it – Author and Ownership of the contents: Italian Data Protection Authority).
The implementation of vaccination plans for the activation of extraordinary anti-Covid-19 vaccination points in the workplace, provided for by the National Protocol of 6 April 2021, constitutes a public health initiative, which is why general responsibility and supervision the entire process remains the responsibility of the Regional Health Service and must be implemented in compliance with the regulations on data protection.
Respect for the traditional division of competences between the competent doctor and the employer must also be ensured for vaccination in the workplace, highlighted in the document on the role of the competent doctor in workplace safety, now available on the Authority's website.
In the address document, the Italian Data Protection Authority specifies that the main data processing activities - from the collection of subscriptions, to the administration, to the registration in the regional systems of the vaccination - must be carried out by the competent doctor or other specially identified health personnel. In fact, within the framework of the rules protecting the dignity and freedom of data subjects in the workplace, the employer is not allowed to collect information relating to the intention directly from employees, from the competent doctor, or from other health professionals or health facilities. of the worker to adhere to the campaign or to the administration (or not) of the vaccine and other data relating to his health conditions. Taking into account the imbalance in the relationship between employer and employee, the consent of the worker cannot in these cases constitute a valid prerequisite for processing vaccination data, just as it is not allowed to derive any consequence, neither positive nor negative, from membership. or not at the vaccination campaign.
(Source: Web site garanteprivacy.it – Author and Ownership of the contents: Italian Data Protection Authority).
