Covid vaccine: Firms urged to give workers time off to get jab

New advice designed to ‘maintain good workplace relations and avoid unnecessary conflict’

Companies should give their workers paid time off to attend Covid-19 vaccination appointments, according to a workplace advice service.

And employees should also be allowed to take sick days if they suffer side-effects from coronavirus jabs, conciliation service Acas said.

Taking these steps would help “maintain good workplace relations and avoid unnecessary conflict”, the head of the government body added.

So far, some 18,242,873 people in the UK have received their first dose of a vaccine, while 669,105 have had two, according to the most recent government figures.

The next step in vaccine development is to create jabs that can counter new variants of Covid-19, such as that which emerged in South Africa.

Susan Clews said: "The UK has a world leading coronavirus vaccination programme and recent projections suggest that everyone in the country may get offered the vaccine by the end of July.

"This is great news which has given hope to many businesses and staff that have been impacted by the pandemic.

"Some employers have already indicated a wish for their employees to get vaccinated once it is their turn, but this is a tricky area of employment law as vaccines have always been voluntary.

"Our new advice aims to help employers support staff to get the vaccine, maintain good workplace relations and avoid unnecessary conflict."

Companies and staff should work together to develop vaccines policies, Acas said.

Acas advice is that it is best to support staff to get the vaccine without making it a requirement. If an employer feels vaccination is a necessary requirement for someone to do their job, then they should work with staff or the workplace's recognised trade union to agree this.

This should ideally be set out in a workplace policy that is also in line with the organisation's existing disciplinary and grievance policy.

If someone does not want to be vaccinated then the employer should listen to their concerns, be sensitive to individual circumstances and keep any concerns confidential.

Some people may have legitimate reasons for not taking the vaccine or they could be protected from discrimination under equality legislation. For example, someone who is pregnant is exempt from vaccination.

Workers should talk to their GP if they are concerned about their health and being inoculated, says Acas.

Additional reporting by Press Association