Google insists staff must have vaccine before return to office

GOOGLE has told staff to get vaccinated before returning to the office, making the search giant one of the largest employers to require the jab.

Sundar Pichai, the chief executive, said in an email that vaccination against Covid-19 will be compulsory for employees arriving at work in the US within weeks.

The policy will then be expanded to other countries such as the UK in the coming months depending on factors such as how widely vaccines are available.

Google has more than 5,000 employees in Britain and 144,000 globally. “Getting vaccinated is one of the most important ways to keep ourselves and our communities healthy in the months ahead,” Mr Pichai told staff.

It comes as Google pushed back the date it would demand that staff return to offices work amid lingering global concerns over the delta variant.

The company had said employees would need to start coming back to the office in September, but said it would now require it from October 18. Apple last week pushed back the date it expects staff to return.

Google and Apple, alongside Amazon, have said they expect the majority of staff will work from an office when the pandemic subsides, despite predictions that technology companies would wholeheartedly embrace remote working.

However, Google is the first of the major tech companies to make vaccination compulsory for those who return. In Britain, staff at companies including Bank of America, book publisher Bloomsbury and Pimlico Plumbers have been told they will need to be jabbed.

Following the news, Facebook said it would also require workers to be vaccinated to return to its US campuses before evaluating its approach in other regions, according to the Financial Times. Netflix will also ask actors and those working in close proximity to them to be jabbed on its US productions, reported Bloomberg.

Mr Pichai said there would be exemptions for those who could not be vaccinated for medical or other reasons and that introducing the policy worldwide would depend on local regulations. Employers in Britain are able to mandate that staff receive the vaccine.

Netflix also said there will be exemptions for similar reasons, while Facebook said it would have a “process” in place for those who cannot be jabbed.