Government decides Care Home Workers need COVID vaccine

The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021, have been approved by both Houses of Parliament. These regulations make it mandatory for a person working or providing professional services in a care home to have had the Covid-19 vaccine.

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The Regulations mean that a Care Home must ensure that any non-resident over the age of 18 does not enter the residential accommodation unless that person has provided evidence that they have been vaccinated with the complete course of an authorised vaccine against coronavirus, or the person has provided evidence that for clinical reasons they cannot be vaccinated. Unvaccinated people will still be able to enter a Care Home to visit a resident service user as a friend or relative.

The Regulations apply to England only. They now need to be made and will come in to force within 16 weeks of that date, so this should give all adults enough time to have the vaccine in accordance with the Government’s vaccination timetable.

You will perhaps have read many articles discussing the right for employers to demand for its employees to have the jab; ‘no jab, no job’, if you will. There is no straightforward answer to this question, as it will depend on the job the employee carries out, their personal circumstances (i.e. if there are any medical reasons for not having the vaccine), and the employer’s reasons for demanding the employee takes the vaccine. There is more justification for demanding that employees working with vulnerable adults have the vaccine, but the exemption for employees with medical reasons demonstrates that the Government acknowledges that there cannot be a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

It is possible that this legislation could be opposed through the Courts by anti-vaxxers, arguing that this breaches their rights to hold a ‘manifestly held belief’ that they disagree with the vaccine; Section 10(2) Equality Act 2010 confirms that a “philosophical belief” is also a protected characteristic, capable of protecting the holder from any less favourable treatment as a result. However, it is likely that these new Regulations would be seen as being the proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aim of trying to avoid care home patients from catching Covid (and therefore a reasonable policy to adopt), although it remains an interesting argument.

If you have a question about any of the issues in this article, or any other employment law issue, please contact Ben Stanton by email at ben.stanton@franklins-sols.co.uk or call our Employment Team on 01908 660966 / 01604 828282.