Google threatens to fire the unvaccinated: Can the same happen in Spain?

Google has informed its employees that they will lose their salary – and could be fired – if they do not comply with the company’s COVID-19 vaccination policy.

The information, first released by CNBC, says that a memo distributed by Alphabet management said employees had until December 3 to declare their vaccination status and upload documentation to prove it, or to request one. medical or religious exemption from not doing so.

The company said that after that date it would begin contacting employees who had not uploaded their status or were not vaccinated, as well as those whose exemption requests had not been approved.

The document says that employees who have not met vaccination standards by the January 18 deadline will be placed on “paid administrative leave” for 30 days. After that, the company will put them on “unpaid personal leave”, meaning without pay, for up to six months, followed by their dismissal.

A Google spokesperson said in a statement that “our vaccination requirements are one of the most important ways we keep our workforce safe and our services running.”

In Spain, a company cannot require a worker to be vaccinated

Google’s decision comes after it was one of the big technology companies that also did the most for the return to the office, also proposing that its teleworking employees be paid based on their place of residence.

Now, could something like this happen in Spain? From the specialist office in data protection, they affirm that something like this would be difficult for it to occur in Spain, where leisure, however, has not been without controversy.

However, leisure is a voluntary activity, unlike a job, so according to the office, a COVID certificate could not be requested for new hires (something that continues to be seen anyway), nor within a company itself.

“We start from the basis that the COVID vaccine is not mandatory, not even in certain sectors where it could be more appropriate, such as healthcare,” they point out. Therefore, the company or organization could advise it, but in no case impose it on its staff based on both the right to privacy and the level of data protection.