Half of bosses would ban staff who haven’t been vaccinated

HALF of business owners say they won’t allow their staff to return to offices if they haven’t had a Covid19 vaccine.

A survey of more than 300 bosses found that 51 per cent would allow only those who had been jabbed to visit company premises.

The study, which covered firms that employ fewer than 250 staff, comes as more companies prepare for a return to workplaces as lockdown eases.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked Britons to work from home if they can until Covid restrictions are fully lifted in June.

But there is now hope that the over- 40s may be vaccinated by Easter and all adults by the end of July. Tycoon Charlie Mullins, who founded Pim li co Plumbers, has already said he will introduce a ‘no jab, no job’ policy for new employees.

Meanwhile, other employers are considering using health passports so that only vaccinated staff or those who have tested negative for Covid can enter their offices.

More than 48,000 businesses have now signed up for free workplace checks being offered by the Government in a major victory for The Mail on Sunday’s Tests at Work campaign. We called for rapid testing in workplaces to reboot the economy and get staff safely back to factories, plants, offices and shops. The Government scheme was extended to all companies in England earlier this month.

The latest data shows more than 9,000 firms are now receiving free rapid lateral flow tests under the scheme, up from fewer than 100 when t he MoS campaign was launched earlier this year.

Thousands more of those that have registered an interest are in the process of setting up testing programmes.

The survey of small and mediumsized businesses by Yonder on behalf of Cignpost ExpressTest found 54 per cent had formulated a plan to return to the office.

The highest proportion are in London and the lowest in the east of England. Nick Markham, cofounder of Cignpost, which tests employees at Apple, Amazon and the BBC, said: ‘With the end of lockdown restrictions on the horizon, this research shows that many businesses are confused about how to return their employees to the office quickly and safely.’

The research also found that 63 per cent of firms believe they should organise regular testing.