No jab, no job: Fears mandatory vaccines for workers could lead to rise in discrimination
Staffordshire and Cheshire workers say they're expecting bosses to insist on a covid jab before being allowed back
Business experts and leaders across Staffordshire and Cheshire are warning employers to "tread very carefully" if they're thinking about introducing a 'jabs for jobs' policy in their workplace.
One in two workers say they expect their bosses to demand a vaccine passport before they can return, according to a new study of 5,000 British workers across various sectors by BrightHR.
It also found only 17% have had a conversation about their companies’ policy on vaccines, but over a third said they expect it will be mandatory.
Andy Pear owns a number of firms in Congleton, Sandbach and Stoke-on-Trent - mainly within the hospitality and medical industries.
"Morally, it's a very, very grey area. It's a bit murky. And I think we it's an area that we would want to avoid." said Andy."We would do it by encouragement, both to protect themselves and to protect their work colleagues. So to do everything we can to encourage staff rather than try and take more forceful action.
Andy says he ensures all his workplaces have on-site vaccination areas, which includes the option of the flu-vaccine which the company funds for staff.
He adds whilst he has a duty of care for his employees, he doesn't have a duty to dictate that they should be vaccinated to be employed.
"We will do everything that we can to encourage people, but I don't think that we're in a position to be able to insist on it." said Andy.
"I think it's a really difficult one. I think ultimately, vaccines are very personal decision, and whilst we've got to make sure that people are safe and secure, I don't think that in a normal workplace, we're in a position to be able to insist on vaccination."
A fifth of Brits admit they would fear for their health if their employers refused to make the vaccine mandatory for staff.
However, Abi Lynch an Associate Solicitor at employment law experts Forbes in the North West, said:
"Employers do need to be careful to avoid introducing such policies because they could be considered to be discriminatory.
"Employers might find that employees do issue claims for things such as pregnancy and maternity discrimination or race discrimination, age discrimination, you know only limited age groups of people who have actually been invited for the vaccines. Some workers as well may also choose not to take the vaccine because of a medical condition or because of their own religious beliefs."
Opinions on the introduction of mandatory vaccinations are split, while nationally a third think it would be reckless of their employer NOT to introduce a policy on vaccinations, almost two thirds say it is far too controlling for an employer to introduce such measures.
45% said they worry that creating a ‘jabs for jobs’ policy would put unnecessary pressure on people who didn’t wish to be vaccinated. Over a third said they would worry about people who were not safe to have the vaccine pushing to get one to protect their income.
According to the research 1 in 10 (13%) don’t plan on taking up the vaccine offered to them due to concerns over side effects. Although they are not the only ones who worry about side effects, with two thirds of workers worried about taking time off if they develop side effects from their vaccine. This is of particular concern to hospitality workers, who for many have only just started to return to work. Over three quarters of staff working in hospitality would be concerned with taking time off if they were to experience side effects from the vaccine, followed by business leaders (68%).