The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) has urged employers to support staff with receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations, after commissioning YouGov to poll 2,030 senior decision makers in businesses in the UK. The survey was carried out online in June 2021.
The research found that 25 per cent of employers have not been providing staff with paid time off to get vaccinated - and have no plans to do so. In addition, a similar number of employers are not offering full company sick pay for those unable to work due to side-effects of the vaccine.
When asked about giving staff paid time off for Covid vaccinations, 59 per cent said they did; 4 per cent said they did not at present but planned to implement this soon; 25 per cent said they did not and had no plans to do so - and 12 per cent said they had not yet decided.
ACAS stated that the study showed that more employers should support workers to get a vaccine when it is offered. This would include being paid for time off - a move partially backed by the Confederation of British Businesses.
Susan Clews - Chief Executive of ACAS - said:
“The vaccine rollout programme has gone well - and our survey reveals that most employers have allowed staff paid time off to get the jab - but a quarter have not. Our study also reveals that a similar number of bosses have not paid full company sick pay to staff who have been unable to work due to side-effects from the vaccine. It’s in businesses’ best interests to have a vaccine policy that supports staff to take time off, as fully vaccinated workers are less likely to need longer periods of time off work to recover from Covid 19.”
John Foster - Director of Policy at the CBI - said:
“Delivering on the vaccine rollout is crucial to boosting confidence in the reopening and helping the economy adjust to the next phase of learning to live with the virus. The vast majority of businesses are continuing their commitment to protecting staff and customers during the pandemic. This includes showing flexibility when the time comes for their staff to get the jab. We’d encourage all companies to demonstrate this same level of consideration towards their employees.”
Some law firms in England, however, have advised employers against forcing staff to receive the Covid-19 vaccinations due to the risk of discrimination claims.
Alexandra Carn - Employment Partner at Keystone Law - stated:
“Companies that will introduce a contractual requirement that employees are vaccinated against Covid-19 could be falling foul of current legislation. Under the current Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, there is a requirement that employers are responsible for ensuring the health and safety of their employees so far as reasonably practicable. This has been cited as a means by which employers could demand employees to have vaccinations. However, this fails to consider other legal protections that employees may have, and does not consider the position in the event of a conflict of laws. Many employees may not be able to have vaccines for health reasons and as such a requirement for vaccination may infringe the protections for disabled persons. Employees may refuse vaccinations for religious reasons, a right also protected under the Equality Act. In addition, there is the issue that a belief in anti-vaccination is a non-religious ‘protected belief’ under the Equality Act. There is a large body of case law on what constitutes a ‘protected belief’ and from that it is clearly arguable that an anti-vaccination belief could qualify.”
Supporting the findings of the ACAS study, Andy McDonald - Labour Shadow Employment Rights and Protections Secretary - stated:
“Employers who are refusing to give their staff paid time off to get their vaccinations are putting their staff at risk and undermining the national effort against the virus. The Government is not doing enough. They should put pressure on employers to guarantee that workers will receive paid time off for their vaccination appointments and to recover from any after-effects.”
