[ 2021-03-17 ]

Half of UK managers back mandatory Covid vaccines for office work

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https://www.ft.com/content/91a5f42b-0e8a-4e79-954e-81d60c408245?segmentId=b0d7e653-3467-12ab-c0f0-77e4424cdb4c

More than half of managers in the UK want to be
allowed to make coronavirus vaccinations mandatory
for staff returning to work, according to a survey
that adds to pressure on the government to support
“jabs for jobs” to help accelerate the
reopening of the battered British economy. 

Close to half also said that office access should
be restricted for those who refused to get a
vaccination on non-medical grounds, the national
poll conducted by the Chartered Management
Institute of more than 1,000 managers found.

Three-fifths of managers have already decided to
make testing available for their employees when
they are allowed to return to the office — with
a fifth saying this will become mandatory to
return to work.

Ann Francke, CMI chief executive, said:
“Managers have shown a significant level of
support for mass testing and vaccinations. And
widespread take up would allow for a swift and
safe return to work.”

Boris Johnson, prime minister, has admitted that
the issue raises serious “philosophical and
ethical” concerns and has ordered a review by
Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister.

Gove launched the consultation on Monday —
inviting responses from interested parties into
how Covid-19 certification could work through the
use of testing or vaccination data. The review
will look at the ethical, equalities, privacy,
legal and operational aspects of a certification
scheme.

Lawyers warn that it would be difficult for
companies to insist on mandatory vaccinations
under current workplace legislation, given the
risk of discriminating against workers who cannot
or will not be vaccinated.

As a result, Downing Street would prefer a system
under which companies let staff or customers
choose to demonstrate proof of either vaccination
or recent testing. Businesses can get free
coronavirus workplace tests under a government
scheme.

In the CMI survey, over half agreed it was a
manager’s role to encourage employees to get a
Covid-19 vaccination. The same number were
concerned about potential conflict between staff
reluctant to be vaccinated and workers who feel
unsafe working with those people.

The Trades Union Congress said that it was
encouraging workers to get vaccinated. Frances
O’Grady, TUC general secretary, said workplace
testing “can play a key role in our public
health effort?.?.?.?but employers should not
introduce testing until they can guarantee that
all of their workforce have access to decent sick
pay”.

The CMI survey also showed that the pandemic will
have a lasting impact on how companies use their
offices, with only a fifth of bosses saying that
they wanted employees to return to the workplace
five days a week.

Many companies are already bringing in hybrid
working policies from when restrictions lift in
the summer, mixing time in the office and at home.
Most organisations have found that staff worked
efficiently in their homes during the pandemic,
and many workers want to retain some of that
flexibility.

Almost half of managers said their organisations
would probably reduce the office space in their
main headquarters as a result.

But the poll showed a split between sizes of
businesses, with larger companies showing a
greater willingness to adopt flexible working,
while SMEs were more likely to say workers will go
back much or all of the time. 

The government has told companies to keep workers
at home if possible, although there are exemptions
for those who need to be in the office for
essential business or personal reasons.

About 15 per cent of managers whose staff were
working from home said that employees would
continue to work mostly or entirely remotely in
future.

Source - FT, UK

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