On January 13, 2012 the High Labour Court
of Berlin-Brandenburg confirmed the decision
of the first instance, that the dismissal
within probation time of a chemical technician
with an HIV infection was permissible.
After guidelines for risk assessment in
healthcare personnel with blood-transmissible
infectious diseases (such as hepatitis B
and hepatitis C and additionally HIV in the
US) have been already published, this decision
reveals the necessity from the view of
occupational medicine, to develop comparable
recommendations for the risk assessment
in occupations beyond the healthcare
sector. Only if a relevant risk for third parties
exists should the employer have the right to
ask such questions during the employment
process.
