COVID-19 vaccine compulsory for the care sector

Thursday 15 July 2021

The House of Commons has voted in favour of a compulsory COVID-19 vaccine policy for care home staff or they face being dismissed.

The vote (which was approved by 319 votes to 246) faced considerable backlash from many Tory MPs. However, it now means that by October, anyone who is working in a care home that is regulated and approved by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will need to have two doses of an approved vaccine. This includes, for the purposes of the legislation, workers who are required to visit care homes such as beauticians and delivery drivers.

The vote follows a consultation that took place over the spring due to a concern that the uptake of vaccines in the care sector was relatively low, especially given the specific risks that care homes face from coronavirus. Care homes have faced the brunt of the pandemic with over 40,000 deaths since the first lockdown in March 2020. The government wants to ensure that those working in the care sector are vaccinated to protect the residents of care homes.

These new rules are targeted to a very specific sector and for a very particular reason, being that in the long run it will save lives. Therefore, it is unlikely that compulsory COVID-19 vaccines will go much further.

There is currently a consultation taking place to determine if compulsory vaccinations should be rolled out to the wider healthcare sector, but a decision has not yet been reached. Again, the rationale is that it is a sector specific measure that would save lives.

How does this affect employers?

For employers outside of these sectors, the guidance published by ACAS remains the same. Employers should encourage and support the workforce in taking up their offer of a vaccine but should try to do this without forcing them.

Employers in the care sector will now be facing the prospects of dismissing employees who refuse to get the compulsory COVID-19 vaccine. The rules will not apply to employees who may be medically exempt and there will be a 16-week grace period to give employees time to get the vaccine.

What happens if an employee refuses to take the vaccine remains to be seen but so long as employers follow a fair procedure, any dismissal would likely be deemed fair as vaccination will be required by law. The main issue employers in the care sector may face is in future recruitment. The care sector is already a very difficult sector to recruit into and it is even more difficult to retain employees, so mandatory vaccination may make a bad situation worse.

If you have any questions about compulsory vaccinations, please email or call our Employment Law team today on 0113 207 0000.