Major UK care home group insists new staff must have Covid-19 vaccine

Care UK latest company to introduce ‘no jab, no job’ policy

A care home resident receives a Covid-19 vaccine in the UK. Reuters 

One of the UK’s largest care home operators has introduced a “no jab, no job” policy for new staff to increase vaccine take-up among carers.

Care UK, which runs 120 homes, is the latest provider to introduce such a policy after Barchester Healthcare - another major player in the sector - said it would insist all current staff were inoculated against Covid-19.

The outbreak of coronavirus in care homes was one of the most devastating fronts in the UK’s battle against Covid-19, with more than 25,000 care home residents dying from the disease since March last year.

There is now concern over the number of care workers who are refusing to take the vaccine, with three in 10 care home staff remaining unvaccinated, according to NHS England figures published last week.

More than 435,000 workers in care homes for older adults are eligible in England, but only 304,600 have received a first dose.

Care UK said a “no jab, no job” policy would apply to new workers, with two thirds of current staff already vaccinated.

“Everyone applying for a role which requires them to go into a home will be expected to have been vaccinated before they start work,” a spokesman said.

Barchester, however, said it would insist on current staff being vaccinated, warning that those who refuse on non-medical grounds “will, by reason of their own decision, make themselves unavailable for work”.

The company said it expects all staff to have the vaccine by April 23 with the only exemptions on medical grounds, including pregnancy.

“We are very aware of concerns around possible discrimination which is in no way our intention,” a spokesman said. “We are doing everything possible to ensure fairness while also delivering on our duty to protect our residents, patients and staff.”

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said last week that it was "up to businesses" to decide whether they wanted workers or customers to be inoculated against Covid-19.

But the move could have ethical and legal consequences, as workers could claim discrimination if they were compelled to take the shot. Any change to existing employment contracts would require employee consent.

The Covid-19 vaccine is not mandatory in the UK. The government is currently reviewing whether to introduce vaccine passports for use in the domestic economy.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there were “ethical issues” with the government introducing vaccine certificates.

“We can't be discriminatory against people who can't have the vaccine, there might be a medical reason, or some people may genuinely refuse to have one - I think that's a mistake,” he said.

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