Coronavirus: What can I do if my employee refuses to be vaccinated?

As you would imagine, you cannot force an employee to have a vaccine. The Government has stated that it isn’t a legal requirement to have the Covid-19 vaccine. An employee may be unable to have it due to health reasons (such as allergies or pregnancy). Encouraging, educating and emphasising the duty of care the employer has towards employees (and clients) could help persuade them. If someone is reluctant a gentle one-to-one conversation discussing their reasons and really listening may help. Mentioning that being vaccinated is following government guidance may be helpful.

If your employees work with vulnerable clients try communicating with each employee to explain the benefits of the vaccine and the reasons why you would encourage your employees to have it.

Your employees may or may not inform you if they are having the Covid-19 vaccine but you may be able to demonstrate that it is a reasonable management instruction for them to tell you dependent on your line of work. You also need to remember that the information constitutes sensitive personal health data and you’ll need to store the data collected in line with GDPR.

As per the Health & Safety Act 1974, all you can do as employer is to take all reasonably practical steps to reduce workplace risks so advising your employees on the government advise and gently persuading is all you can do.

Requiring employees to take the vaccine is a difficult area in employment law as, of course, we’ve only known about Covid-19 for a year. The balance is not only the risk the employee is taking with their own health but with co-workers and clients’ health. It could be construed as reasonable to “instruct” employees to take the vaccine if they work on the frontline with

contact with others but again a lack of consensus amongst employment lawyers means it is difficult to advise. In theory an employee could be disciplined for “unreasonably” refusing to be vaccinated but transferring the employee to working away from the frontline should be considered if possible and legal advice should be sought.

If you’d like some help with writing your HR blogs then do get in touch – lindsey.drake@quayvirtualassistance.co.uk

Illustration by Bethany Drake Illustration