In a Nursery World poll, 50 per cent said they believe Covid-19 vaccination should be a requirement to work in a childcare setting.
However more than a third (35 per cent) said they didn’t think it should be made a condition of employment, while a large minority were undecided (15 per cent).
The poll ran on Nursery World’s Twitter page between 16 and 19 August and received 80 responses.
While some employers, including some nurseries, have made the decision to contractually require their workforce to have the Covid-19 vaccine, there is currently no legal requirement for education workers in the UK to have the vaccine.
However, from October there will be a legal requirement for care home staff in England to be fully vaccinated against Covid in order to retain their employment. There are as yet no plans to introduce the same law for other sectors.
Employment law specialist, Hannah Belton, director of Morgan La Roche solicitors, warned that while many employers may wish to make vaccination compulsory, it does not come without risks.
A balancing game
She told Nursery World, ‘Employers have a duty to ensure the health and safety at work of their employees, and therefore arguably by asking employees to have a vaccination, it is likely to be a reasonable step to take.
‘However, this does not come without risks. If, for example, an employer informed employees that refusing a vaccination could lead to disciplinary action, the employer could face employee relation problems as well as a risk of discrimination claims, constructive dismissal and human rights issues. Employers would also have to take into account those employees who are medically exempt from having the vaccination.’
‘Many employers already require staff to undertake lateral flow tests and have their temperature taken before entering premises in a bid to reduce the risk. The difficulty lies with the financial risks to your business. If parents demand only doubled jabbed staff care for their child, this puts the business at a serious financial risk, and the owners would have to weigh up the risks referred to above when implementing such a policy.’
She went on to say that it was unlikely most employers would be able to use health and safety grounds to justify taking disciplinary action against an employee for refusing to have a vaccination.
Last month we reported that a Bradford nursery has made it a condition of employment that by 1 September all staff must be either doubled vaccinated, or agree to become fully vaccinated, to work at the setting.
