This is currently a hot topic and one we discussed at our webinar this afternoon.
Things move quickly in the world of employment law with the justice secretary just saying that it may be legal for employers to insist on new staff being vaccinated as a condition of their employment.
In relation to existing staff, he said that this would be unlikely under their current contracts. He said it may be seem as “discriminatory” to order people to have the jab in order to keep their jobs.
Pimlico Plumbers have been one of the first companies to state that they will not take on new staff, who refuse a vaccination on non-medical grounds.
Caution has been expressed that each role will have to be analysed and the health and safety risks evaluated before introducing such a clause.
One initial concern is that such a clause could discriminate against younger workers who are last in line for the vaccine.