Today, Sajid Javid confirmed that he is looking at scrapping the regulations making vaccination a condition of deployment for workers in the health and social care sector. The Health Secretary confirmed he no longer believes it to be proportionate to require health and social care workers in England to have the Covid vaccine through statute and will launch a consultation into removing the requirement.
Previously, the deadline for affected staff to become fully vaccinated to proceed in their roles was 1 April 2022. This had meant, allowing for the recommended eight weeks between doses, the first jab must be administered by 3 February 2022.
Now, unvaccinated staff are allowed to stay in patient-facing roles without being vaccinated, pending the outcome of the consultation, which could see over 80,000 jobs being saved.
Alan Price, CEO of BrightHR, explains what impact this announcement will have on the sector:
“Although many employers within the health and social care sector would welcome the scrapping of the requirement for mandatory vaccines due to the detrimental impact it is having on staffing resources, today’s announcement is not good news from a practical point of view. Employers now have no clarity on what will happen and when, especially coming so close to the 3rd of February deadline for workers to have the first vaccine.
“Tens of thousands of staff members could have been at risk of losing their jobs because of the requirements, making it near impossible for organisations to continue operating. Some employers raised concerns that they would need to close completely, as they would not have enough people in to safely provide care to others, and it is this that has prompted today’s announcement.
“This will take some immediate pressure off employers and allow them to focus on the retention of existing staff and recruitment of others, to further grow and enhance their individual care functions. Similarly, it alleviates the strain on employee relations and reduces the number of grievances being raised, to allow for a better company culture, albeit temporarily.
“This latest change does, however, likely still pose several challenges for employers and their staff. Technically the legislation is still in place, but it looks likely to be removed at some point. I would recommend employers discontinue any dismissal procedures that are currently in place.
“Those who have already undertaken formal procedures and confirmed action against the employee (e.g. given notice of dismissal) will need to rescind this and allow the individual to continue in their role as usual.
“It is thought that thousands of unvaccinated health and social care workers have already handed in their notice so employers may be expected to exercise some leniency in allowing staff to retract it.
“Likewise, employers who had found alternative non-patient facing roles for unvaccinated staff to move to, can now make arrangements to repeal this.
“Write to staff and tell them of this development, the decision to hold off on dismissal procedures and the fact that there may still be other measures put in place. These are likely to be regulatory guidance rather than a legal mandate; we will know more in time and can then look at the potential impact of such guidance but for now, we wait for the consultation.
“Many employers and employees may feel left in limbo, but there will be no quick decisions. Removing any law will take time.”
