The FNV labor union reported Monday that 1,000 healthcare workers have lost or are at risk of losing their jobs because they stayed home for more than two years with COVID-19.

So far, more than 4,200 healthcare workers with long-term COVID-19 have reported to a union contact point. Anyone who has been sick for more than two years can be dismissed.

According to an FNV spokesperson, only a “handful” of employees sitting at home have been able to make an arrangement with their employer, so they can stay on duty longer.

Three-quarters of reporters who worked in nursing homes and hospitals believe they were infected there, says FNV Vice President Kitty Jung. The union will submit a report to the House of Representatives on Tuesday that includes the results of the hotline, which has been in place for six months.

According to the FNV, one in three reporters had to bear the costs of rehabilitation themselves and had to turn in a quarter of an hour at work. Jung: “It is very painful that the people receiving care who have helped vulnerable people so well during the Corona crisis are now at risk and forced out of care.”

FNV is calling for €150 million in funding to compensate people suffering from COVID-19 for lost income and additional healthcare costs.