Unvaccinated health workers in England could be fired without compensation

From February 4 unjabbed staff could face dismissal

Frontline NHS staff must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with two doses by April 1. Reuters

Unvaccinated healthcare staff in England face being sacked without an exit payment, an official document shows.

Frontline National Health Service (NHS) staff must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with two doses by April 1, meaning they must have had their first vaccine on February 3.

Healthcare employers have been told that from the following day, February 4, unjabbed staff should be invited to a meeting and told that a potential outcome may be dismissal.

“The NHS has always been clear that the life-saving Covid vaccination is the best protection against the virus, and while it is currently a recommendation for health and care staff to be vaccinated, it will soon become a legal requirement,’ said NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis.

“The overwhelming majority of staff in NHS organisations, nine in ten, have already had their second jab, and NHS employers will continue to support and encourage staff who have not yet been vaccinated to take up the offer of the 1st and 2nd doses ahead of the April 1, when regulations come into effect.”

The guidance, published on Friday and reported on by the Health Service Journal, is for the implementation of Vaccination as a Condition of Deployment (VCOD).

The 24-page document says: “It is important to note this is not a redundancy exercise. In the context of the regulations, there is no diminishment or cessation of work of a particular kind.

“Employers will not be concerned with finding 'suitable alternative employment' and there will be no redundancy entitlements, including payments, whether statutory or contractual, triggered by this process.

“The redeployment or dismissal of workers is determined by the introduction of the regulations and an individual's decision to remain unvaccinated.

“Whilst organisations are encouraged to explore redeployment, the general principles which apply in a redundancy exercise are not applicable here, and it is important that managers are aware of this.”

The guidance says employers should engage and work in collaboration with their trade union or staff side representatives, as to the formal measures being taken “in respect of redeployment processes and potential dismissals of staff due to VCOD".

Alternative options potentially available to an unvaccinated staff member — such as any possible adjustments to their current role, restrictions to duties or redeployment opportunities available — should also be explored, the document says.

It adds: “From 4 February 2022, staff who remain unvaccinated (excluding those who are exempt) should be invited to a formal meeting chaired by an appropriate manager, in which they are notified that a potential outcome of the meeting may be dismissal. Meetings may take place in person or virtually.”

The document comes after leading midwives called for an “immediate delay” to plans for mandatory Covid-19 jabs for frontline health workers.

The Royal College of Midwives said the policy could have a significant impact on maternity services, arguing this week that current staff absences are at their highest level since the pandemic began.