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The COVID-19 vaccine continues to be administered, but it is reported that employers are requiring job applicants to provide vaccination certificates during interviews. The Ministry of Labor (MOL, 勞動部) stated that according to the Employment Service Act (就業服務法), employers must not violate job applicants’ or employees’ rights when recruiting or hiring employees; like, retaining their national identity cards, work certificates or other supporting documents, or ask them to provide private information that is not related to the employment. Therefore, the vaccination certificate is considered as a kind of "private information for employment" (就業隱私資料) and the employer must have a legitimate reason for requiring, otherwise the employer will be fined.
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The Ministry of Labor stated that employers must have justified reasons before requesting for a vaccination certificate. Photo/Retrieved from "United Daily News"
Wu Shu-Ying (吳淑瑛), deputy head of the Labor Development Agency of the Ministry of Labor (勞動部勞動力發展署), said that recently it was reported that workers were asked to provide vaccination certificates when they went for interviews, which made workers worry about giving their personal private information. There is no doubt that the vaccination certificates are private information, and they are not required for employment. The business unit must consider the work aspects and site conditions to judge if there is a need for the certificate of vaccination.
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Workers can file a report if they encounter this situation. Photo/Retrieved from "United Daily News"
In addition, if the workplace is a high-risk area and the applicant may be exposed to many patients with COVID-19, etc., the employer must still give legitimate reasons when requesting the job applicant to provide proof of vaccination. If the employer does not have a justified reason for requesting the applicant to provide information unrelated to the job application, then this is illegal. If a worker encounters this situation, he can file a report to the labor administration unit. If after investigation, the employer is found to be in violation of the law, a fine of NT$60,000 or more up to NT$300,000 may be imposed.
