Vaccination in the Workplace
There has been a great deal of speculation in the media in recent weeks about whether employers can make the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory for employees in their workplace.
To date the government has only introduced legislation to make vaccines mandatory for employees of, or workers visiting, registered care homes in England and that legislation is not due to take effect until 11 November 2021. However, the government has said that it intends to consult on whether to extend the requirement to workers in other health and social care sectors.
There is no legislation in place, or currently contemplated, to enable an employer to insist on mandatory vaccines in any other sector. At this stage, introducing such a policy would almost certainly place an employer at risk of employment tribunal claims. The EHRC have warned that they are likely to impact more upon people with disabilities, and they may also be indirectly discriminatory to people from ethnic minorities where the vaccine take-up has been less prevalent.
Government guidance focuses upon encouraging employees to take up the vaccine and the latest guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-guide-for-employers/covid-19-vaccination-guide-for-employers
End of Furlough
The government has confirmed that furlough will end with effect from 30 September 2021. During August and September employers will be required to pay 20% of an employees pay while the government subsidies 60% of any employee’s pay, subject to the monthly cap of £2,500.
Changes to Track & Trace
From 16 August 2021, double vaccinated people and those under 18 years of age will no longer be legally required to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case. If someone gets their second dose just before, or after, the 16 August, they’ll need to wait until two weeks after they get the second jab to benefit from this change, so the vaccine has time to build the maximum possible protection. This should reduce the number of people being contacted by track and trace and being required to self-isolate.
Should you require any specific information then please do not hesitate to contact Greystone Legal.