Italy: government introduces Covid health pass requirement for all workers from 15 October

On 16 September, following weeks of negotiations with social partners, regional authorities, and the various parties that make up the governing majority, Italy’s Council of Ministers approved a decree (yet to be published in the country’s official gazette) that requires all workers to present a Covid-19 health pass – showing they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, are recovering from the virus, or have recently tested negative – in order to enter their place of work. The measure will apply from 15 October until 31 December 2021, when the state of health emergency comes to an end. Workers without a health pass will be suspended without pay and those found in their workplace without a pass will be fined. It will be up to employers to organise checks. The move is the first of its kind by a European country.