It’s not our job: Dutch hospitality sector against asking for QR codes or negative tests

The association for Dutch hospitality (KHN) is strongly against the government’s plan for staff to request QR codes or proof of vaccination from patrons who want to wine and dine indoors — why?

It’s simple, because it’s not their job.

This is the opinion of the KHN. “[It] is not an assignment that you can leave to the catering industry”, Director of KHN, Dirk Belijaarts tells Nieuwsuur. “You really have to do that as a cabinet yourself.”

The cabinet’s plan

But what exactly is this all referring to? Recently, the Dutch cabinet introduced their plan to implement stricter measures for those who want to have a meal or a drink inside restaurants and cafés.

If these plans go ahead, patrons would be asked to show either proof of vaccination or a negative test result before they can drink or dine indoors.

In this way, the government is leaving it to workers in Horeca to put pressure on society to get vaccinated — and this burden shouldn’t fall to them, the KHN claims. “The catering industry has played policeman long enough,” Belijaarts says.

Workers in Horeca will not be alone in facing this challenge, those working in the cultural industry such as in cinemas and theatres may also have to ask patrons for proof of vaccination.

When will we know more?

The cabinet will announce at Tuesday’s press conference whether or not they will go ahead with this plan. If so, from September 25, it will be compulsory to show proof of vaccination or a test certificate before wining, dining, and hitting the cinema in the Netherlands.

What do you think? Should we show proof of vaccination or a negative test result before we sit indoors? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Feature Image: FamVeldman/Depositphotos

Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
Sarah originally arrived in the Netherlands due to an inability to make her own decisions — she was simply told by her mother to choose the Netherlands for Erasmus. Life here has been challenging (have you heard the language) but brilliant for Sarah, and she loves to write about it. When Sarah is not acting as a safety threat to herself and others (cycling), you can find her sitting in a corner of Leiden with a coffee, trying to sound witty.

2 COMMENTS

  1. This article conflates Getting/Having proof of vaccination or a negative test with Showing the proof. HORECA establishments already have to card people to make sure they are of legal age to be served alcohol and I don’t hear anyone complaining about that.

    For what it’s worth I believe to get a vaccination or not should be left up to the individual and not mandated by the government. Having said that, asking to see a person’s vaccination status is no different than asking to see proof of age. How long does it take, five seconds maybe?

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