Can an employer require employees to have a coronavirus (COVID-19)
vaccination?

Employers have a duty to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of their employees. Asking employees to agree to a vaccination against coronavirus (COVID-19) is likely to be a reasonable step to take to reduce the risk to employees’ health.

Vaccinations are not currently available for employers to buy privately to provide for their employees, but employers can encourage employees to take up the vaccine when they are eligible under the national programme.

However, if employees do not agree to a vaccine, employers are limited in what they can do, beyond encouraging take up. An employer could consider informing employees that refusing a vaccination could lead to disciplinary action.

BUT There is a risk that such a policy could cause employee relations problems, as employees may feel strongly that this should be a personal decision. It would also raise several legal issues, with a particular risk of complaints relating to discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, disability, and age; constructive dismissal; and human rights issues.

Employers should be aware that employees may have a medical reason for not getting the vaccination.

It is currently unlikely that an employer would be able to use health and safety grounds to justify taking disciplinary action against an employee for refusing a vaccine, particularly in the early stages of the vaccination programme.

This may change over time, when more is known about the effects of the vaccination programme, but there is still likely to be an extremely high threshold to meet to justify such a policy. It may be possible in exceptionally high-risk circumstances, where alternative measures have been taken into consideration and where the policy accounts for the circumstances of individual employees.

Image: based on “MERS Coronavirus Particles“​ by NIAID used under CC BY 2.0top & bottom of image removed.

We have already seen a huge increase in redundancies. As Government support is phased out these will increase exponentially.

It is imperative for all involved that the redundancy process is legal and fair, well communicated and executed.

The coronavirus financial slump mean more redundancies are inevitable – Do you know the law, the rules, good practice?

Are you, your managers, your employee reps trained and ready, can you support staff fully and avoid unfair dismissal claims?

The UK is facing its worse depression ever, indeed we may already be in it.

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash some 50 businesses closed every day. Unemployment rose from the underlying 5% region to 7.6% in 2009, peaking 2 years later at 8.1%.

The coronavirus slump looks to be far worse, redundancies look inevitable

In April 2020, alone, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit rose by 856,500. This compares with a total increase of just 50,000 for the 3 months to end of March. Some forecasts suggest that job losses could exceed the 3.5million seen during summer of the Great Depression in 1932, more worrying some forecasts suggest total job losses could exceed 6 million or 21% of the workforce.

In the long term the country will survive, the country survive the great depression, it survived the Second World War, it survived the 12% unemployment peak of the early 80s

BUT in the short term, cut backs, short time working and redundancies are probable for all. Even those working in boom industries such as the funeral business need to plan ahead for a down turn in deaths.

This means all employers, their HR teams and employee representatives need to ensure that they understand the rules, regulations and best practice relating to lay-offs, short term working and redundancies.

Concrew Trainings one-day courses run on your premises and help senior managers, HR teams and employee/union reps understand the rules, best practice and how to apply them.

Links to Example Course Overviews below:

Employment Law Training

Redundancy Training

Employee Rep Training

We are accepting advance bookings now with the option to reschedule if social distancing rules return.

unemployed by Erich Ferdinand used under CC BY-ND 2.0