One in four businesses plan to make Covid vaccinations mandatory

Almost half of the executives surveyed said that, all things being equal, they would hire a candidate who has been vaccinated over one who has not. 

A new survey suggests thousands of employees may be required to get the Covid-19 vaccination if they wish to return to the workplace as one in four organisations plan to mandate vaccination for their staff.

That’s according to new research by HRLocker, who surveyed 750 business leaders across the UK and Ireland.

The Clare firm, which provides cloud-based HR software to businesses, found that almost a quarter (23%) of employers plan to mandate vaccination for their staff while 40% said they would be willing to dismiss an employee who refused to be vaccinated "without a reasonable excuse."

Almost half (49%) of executives affirmed that, all things being equal, they would hire a candidate who has been vaccinated over one who has not. 

Legal claims

HRLocker say the survey results suggest employers have found themselves “between a rock and a hard place” where they are likely to suffer some negative fallout, whether they choose to mandate Covid-19 vaccination or not, with the greatest perceived risk of either option being legal claims.

“Employers worry that, should they mandate vaccination, it could lead to claims from employees for discrimination, unfair dismissal and adverse reactions."

"Not mandating could lead to claims for failing to fulfil their duty of care to employees in the workplace,” they said.

Asked with whom the decision to vaccinate against Covid-19 should sit, an overwhelming majority of 73% suggested it should rest with the individual/ employee, 15% felt the employer should decide, and 12% believe it should be a Government decision.

Vaccine tracker 

In response to client demand, HRLocker recently launched a vaccine tracker to its platform which can help employers monitor who has been jabbed, who’s exempt and who remains unvaccinated.

The tracker has already been installed by more than 200 companies.

Regardless of a vaccine, half of the executives surveyed said that they planned to continue to make remote working an option for employees whose jobs do not require them to be in the workplace.