Can Covid-19 Vaccinations Be Mandatory?

The UK government has confirmed that it will not embark on mandatory vaccination for UK residents, which leaves open the question of whether employers could require staff to be vaccinated as a condition of attending work. The legality of this approach, and the fairness of taking disciplinary action in the event of non-compliance, like many things in employment law, is a question of what is reasonable.

Employers in healthcare will already be familiar with the requirements to offer vaccinations for other medical conditions to those working on the front line and in non-clinical roles in primary and secondary care settings and whilst roll-out of the Covid vaccine in this sector has been swift, it appears that only two-thirds of social care staff and four-fifths of NHS workers have taken-up the vaccine. Against this background, many employers may be considering “no jab, no job” policies to protect colleagues and clients/customers alike. But do such policies