The social affairs ministry will not take action against companies demanding proof of vaccination from their workers because the situation has no precedent in law, a spokesman has told Nu.nl.

It is not possible to intervene when companies step out of line because nothing in the law says anything about showing proof of vaccination at work, the ministry said. Only a change in the constitution can give the government the legal leeway it needs to carry out controls.

It is currently illegal for employers to ask workers about their vaccination status although an employer may, in some cases and by mutual agreement ask a member of staff to work from home or wear a mask.

Nevertheless, a growing number of companies are now requiring their staff to prove their coronavirus status.

Earlier this week ticket website Ticketmaster asked for proof of vaccination from its office workers and reportedly rang non-vaccinated staff to tell them to stay at home. Nu.nl said.

Nu.nl has also seen a letter to a staffing agency, reportedly from the RAI conference centre in Amsterdam, in which says it will not bring in any workers who cannot prove they are either fully vaccinated, had had Covid-19 recently, or had tested negative for Covid-19.

Car company Leaseplan has also said it would only accept fully vaccinated workers back in the office. And government health advisors said healthcare workers’ vaccination status should be registered, a move supported by home nursing and residential care organisations.

Some seven in 10 Dutch employers think they should be able to ask staff if they are vaccinated for coronavirus, according to a survey by employers’ advisory group AWVN.