Jabs for jobs ‘will prompt a wave of lawsuits’
Employers warned by PM’S adviser they risk discrimination claims over vaccination requirement
COMPANIES that adopt “jabs for jobs” policies risk a wave of discrimination lawsuits, the co-chairman of Boris Johnson’s flexible working task force has warned.
Peter Cheese told The Daily Telegraph that he would urge caution for firms considering adopting compulsory vaccination programmes for their employees. He also said it was possible that some businesses would adopt different mask-wearing rules on different floors of their offices to accommodate the varying Covid concerns of workers.
Internet giants Netflix, Google and Facebook have all announced that staff must be fully vaccinated before returning to the office.
Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, said in an interview last week that it was “smart policy” for companies to insist on vaccinations but Downing Street stressed it was up to individual firms.
Speaking in his capacity as chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Mr Cheese said: “I would strongly caution companies against adopting a ‘jabs for jobs’ principle or policy.
“It’s fraught with lots of potential discrimination and legal issues. It is shaky legal ground.
“It also isn’t very inclusive. There are valid reasons why people may not want to take a vaccination and employers have to understand and accept that.
“Some of this will get tested in courts of law because it’s a relatively new phenomenon. That’s the risk companies are facing.”
Mr Cheese said given that even the fully vaccinated can still catch Covid it is likely companies will continue to keep plastic screen separators in place and encourage social distancing.
Concerns about the legal implications of employers making vaccines compulsory for staff are also shared by some lawyers.
David Sheppard, a senior associate at Capital Law said: “Imposing a policy of only vaccinated people being allowed, without certain exceptions, into work is fraught with legal risk.
“It may well be proportionate in certain high-risk work settings but disproportionate in others, where current Covid-secure measures may sufficiently manage risk of transmission of the virus. A disproportionate policy could expose employers to discrimination claims, human rights complaints and data protection complications in gathering and maintaining sensitive medical information about employees.
“It is possible tens of thousands of pounds in compensation could be paid out in successful legal challenges if employers get this wrong, particularly if collective claims are brought, together with significant legal costs in defending claims.”
Pimlico Plumbers has said it will enforce a “no jab, no job” recruitment policy, while Google has said it would require full vaccination from its 144,000 staff around the world.
Tony Danker, the director general of the Confederation of British Industry, has said he is against mandatory jabs for workers.