Firms not giving time off for jab, TUC warns

FEWER THAN half of companies are giving staff paid time off to get vaccinated against Covid-19, new research suggests.

The TUC said its survey of 1,000 employers showed many were not taking practical steps to make sure as many workers as possible get vaccinated.

The union organisation is pressing for all workers to get paid time off for their vaccine appointments – something only 45 per cent of the employers surveyed said they were doing.

The TUC has written to the Government as part of the Cabinet Office consultation about vaccination passports, calling on ministers to urgently address barriers many workers still face to get vaccinated. Its letter calls for a number of measures, including vaccination clinics to be taken into workplaces.

The TUC poll also found almost one in seven companies have introduced a policy of “no jab, no job” for new or existing employees.

The TUC said this approach was counterproductive, risked damaging employment relations and could be discriminatory.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady added: “Employers should instead encourage their workers to get vaccinated and make it as easy as possible, for example by giving them paid time off for the appointments.”

A Government spokesman said businesses play an important role in the vaccine programme and employers should be “as flexible as possible when it comes to staff getting the jab”.