Nearly all employees at Corfu care homes vaccinated
vaccination
16 Aug 2021
/ 16:47
CORFU. Only 3 out of 65 have not been vaccinated.
The number of employees at Corfu's care homes who have not been vaccinated can be counted on one hand.
Only three employees who have not been vaccinated have been recorded – two at the Corfu Municipal Nursing Home and one at the Catholic Nursing Home “Agios Iosif” – out of a total of 65 people employed at the four facilities.
Today the measure to indefinitely suspend employees at both public and private health facilities if they refused to be vaccinated came into force.
The vaccination of staff at health facilities is compulsory, and from today one must have had at least the first jab in order to go to work. If an employee in the health sector has not received the first jab, they are automatically suspended from work indefinitely (until the end of the pandemic), and their employer is obliged to immediately place them under a suspension arrangement in the “Ergani” system.
The suspension does not constitute nor is it equivalent to a dismissal notice, but the employees will not receive their salary for as long as they remain suspended.
Corfu Municipal Nursing Home
According to reliable sources, of the two unvaccinated workers employed at the Corfu Municipal Nursing Home out of a total of 12 (March 2021 data), one employee will proceed immediately to get vaccinated, while in the second case, if the employee insists on not getting vaccinated, they will be put under indefinite suspension.
A decision is expected tomorrow or on Wednesday, where the issue will be examined at the facility’s Board meeting, chaired by Mayor Meropi Ydraiou.
Other facilities
The situation at the other three facilities for the elderly is good, as the Deputy Regional Governor for Public Health Kostas Zorbas told Enimerosi that vaccination rates are close to 100%. “All the staff working at Corfu nursing homes have been vaccinated for a long time now, since from the very first moment they were considered as high-priority groups because of their contact with the elderly,” he said.
At the Corfu Metropolitan Church's Foundation for the Chronically Ill, which has 60 residents, all 32 employees have been vaccinated.
At the Corfu Private Nursing Home, which has 33 residents, all 11 employees have been vaccinated. As the Head of the institution Antonis Charitos told Enimerosi, “all the staff agreed to be vaccinated two months prior to the publication of FEK, as part of the preventive policy we apply in the institution, as we only accept vaccinated employees and guests”.
Finally, at the Catholic Nursing Home “Agios Iosif”, where there are 38 residents, out of a total of 20 workers including the nuns, only one case of a female worker who has not been vaccinated has been recorded and the facility’s management has been asked to apply the measure of indefinite suspension.
However, in the event of non-compliance with the vaccination requirement, the following penalties are foreseen:
Public sector
For the employee: A specific administrative measure of suspension of duties (non-payment of remuneration) by decision of the Head of the institution. Lifting of the suspension 14 days after the completion of the vaccination.
Private sector
For the employee: The employer is obliged to refuse to accept the provision of the employee's work and is exempted from the obligation to pay remuneration for the period of non-provision of work.
For the employer: If an employer employs staff in violation of the relevant provisions, a fine of €10,000 - €50,000 will be imposed for each violation. If in a review it is found that the violation has been repeated, a fine of €20,000 - €200,000 will be imposed for each violation.
Only three employees who have not been vaccinated have been recorded – two at the Corfu Municipal Nursing Home and one at the Catholic Nursing Home “Agios Iosif” – out of a total of 65 people employed at the four facilities.
Today the measure to indefinitely suspend employees at both public and private health facilities if they refused to be vaccinated came into force.
The vaccination of staff at health facilities is compulsory, and from today one must have had at least the first jab in order to go to work. If an employee in the health sector has not received the first jab, they are automatically suspended from work indefinitely (until the end of the pandemic), and their employer is obliged to immediately place them under a suspension arrangement in the “Ergani” system.
The suspension does not constitute nor is it equivalent to a dismissal notice, but the employees will not receive their salary for as long as they remain suspended.
Corfu Municipal Nursing Home
According to reliable sources, of the two unvaccinated workers employed at the Corfu Municipal Nursing Home out of a total of 12 (March 2021 data), one employee will proceed immediately to get vaccinated, while in the second case, if the employee insists on not getting vaccinated, they will be put under indefinite suspension.
A decision is expected tomorrow or on Wednesday, where the issue will be examined at the facility’s Board meeting, chaired by Mayor Meropi Ydraiou.
Other facilities
The situation at the other three facilities for the elderly is good, as the Deputy Regional Governor for Public Health Kostas Zorbas told Enimerosi that vaccination rates are close to 100%. “All the staff working at Corfu nursing homes have been vaccinated for a long time now, since from the very first moment they were considered as high-priority groups because of their contact with the elderly,” he said.
At the Corfu Metropolitan Church's Foundation for the Chronically Ill, which has 60 residents, all 32 employees have been vaccinated.
At the Corfu Private Nursing Home, which has 33 residents, all 11 employees have been vaccinated. As the Head of the institution Antonis Charitos told Enimerosi, “all the staff agreed to be vaccinated two months prior to the publication of FEK, as part of the preventive policy we apply in the institution, as we only accept vaccinated employees and guests”.
Finally, at the Catholic Nursing Home “Agios Iosif”, where there are 38 residents, out of a total of 20 workers including the nuns, only one case of a female worker who has not been vaccinated has been recorded and the facility’s management has been asked to apply the measure of indefinite suspension.
However, in the event of non-compliance with the vaccination requirement, the following penalties are foreseen:
Public sector
For the employee: A specific administrative measure of suspension of duties (non-payment of remuneration) by decision of the Head of the institution. Lifting of the suspension 14 days after the completion of the vaccination.
Private sector
For the employee: The employer is obliged to refuse to accept the provision of the employee's work and is exempted from the obligation to pay remuneration for the period of non-provision of work.
For the employer: If an employer employs staff in violation of the relevant provisions, a fine of €10,000 - €50,000 will be imposed for each violation. If in a review it is found that the violation has been repeated, a fine of €20,000 - €200,000 will be imposed for each violation.
