European legislation now classifies the SARS-CoV-2 virus under biological agent group 3. Working with group 3 and 4 biological agents is forbidden for working students. Does this mean that most holiday jobs are not allowed to be carried out this summer?

Organisations in all sectors have taken preventive measures in recent weeks in order to be able to start working again or reopen the doors to the public. With the summer approaching, many students are hoping to earn some extra money. But European legislation seems to be throwing a spanner in the works.

A new directive will enter into force on 24 June. This stipulates that coronaviruses no longer belong to the biological agent group 2, but now fall under group 3. Working students and student-employees must not be exposed to (among other things) biological agents group 3 and 4. European Member States have until 24 November to amend their own legislation.

This leads to a lot of questions among employers and students. Can the coronavirus be considered an occupational hazard and therefore make most holiday jobs impossible? Co-Prev, the umbrella organisation for all external services, considered this question and believes that there is no reason to prohibit it.

The Codex on the employment of young people indeed prohibits exposure to biological agents group 3 and 4. However, according to Co-Prev, this prohibition refers to the deliberate use of these biological agents. In the case of working a holiday job during times of corona, these are in principle activities which “do not imply a deliberate intention to work with a biological agent or to use such an agent, but which may involve exposure of the workers to a biological agent” (Codex Art. VII.1-18).

Moreover, working students generally do not have an increased risk in relation to the rest of the population. A risk analysis is recommended in order to give a definite answer to this question.

Therefore, Co-Prev is of the opinion that the European directive does not appear to prohibit holiday jobs.

Attention is, however, paid to students who belong to a high-risk group. According to the current Sciensano guidelines, these are possible risk factors to develop a serious form of Covid-19:

• Severe chronic heart, lung, or kidney disease
• Diabetes
• Immunosuppression, malignant hemopathy, active neoplasia