Q: What impact will the end of reimbursement for PCR and antigen tests from October 15 have on companies subject to the sanitary pass?
A: From October 15, non-vaccinated adults who do not have a medical prescription will no longer be able to have their virological tests reimbursed by the Assurance Maladie.
Employees subject to the pass will continue to be required to present the pass in order to carry out their activity.
The cost of virological tests does not constitute a professional expense. Employers are not obliged to pay for them.
Published in October 2021, this notice addressed a very specific question about reimbursement of Covid-19 tests and health-pass obligations for certain occupations. At the time, employers had to distinguish the employee’s responsibility to present a valid pass from any obligation to finance testing.
The update stated that routine tests for unvaccinated adults without a prescription would no longer be covered by health insurance from 15 October 2021. It also indicated that employers did not have to treat those tests as reimbursable professional expenses. These pandemic-era rules must not be read as current employment guidance.
The legal question is inseparable from the conditions in which work or a transaction takes place. An employer or business owner should identify the people affected, review the relevant documents and distinguish mandatory obligations from optional arrangements. Written procedures can reduce uncertainty, but they cannot replace consideration of individual circumstances. Where a dispute is possible, it is particularly important to retain a clear record of the decisions taken, the explanations given and the dates involved. Older legal commentaries offer valuable perspective on why a rule emerged; they should never be relied on without checking subsequent changes.
