Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
As the Covid-19 vaccine gets rolled out to more vulnerable groups across the country, employers may be starting to think about reintroducing their staff to the workplace after almost a year of furlough, homeworking or getting by under tough conditions.
One of the questions that’s sprung up is whether they can make it mandatory to get the Covid jab.
The short answer is that no, you can’t force staff to get immunised in most cases.
Strongly recommending that your staff have the vaccine is reasonable enough but be aware that some of your employees may not want to get it for health reasons, religious reasons or because they’re pregnant. Others have trust issues with large pharmaceutical companies or are hesitant due to the rapid development of the vaccine.
Terminating their employment would be viewed as discriminatory and they could take you to court for unfair dismissal.
Sarah Calderwood, a human resources and employment lawyer at Slater Heelis, said: “Under current health and safety legislation, employers have a duty to protect the health of employees, anyone on their premises and anyone else affected by the business.
“Existing vaccination guidelines state that if a risk assessment finds a risk of exposure