Employers must give staff time off to get vaccinated

A TUC survey found less than half of employers would allow staff paid time off to get their shots. For the sake of the vaccination programme’s success that needs to change, writes James Moore

One solution might be to take clinics into workplaces (Getty)

A bumpy supply means younger Britons might have to wait a few weeks longer than hoped to get their vaccine offers but the government maintains that it will hit its targets so it shouldn’t be too long. 

But will their employers give them the time they need to get their jabs? The TUC this morning publishes some disturbing research which calls that into question. 

A YouGov poll of 1002 human resource decision makers for the union body found less than half (45 per cent) were giving staff paid time off to get vaccinated despite it demonstrably being in their interests to do so. 

This could put their staff on the horns of a nasty dilemma if they are unable to secure an appointment at a convenient time.

Consider that many people have spent months on furlough, which means a 20 per cent wage haircut. The Resolution Foundation today also publishes its quarterly Earnings Outlook, which found half of workers suffered a real terms cut over the last year with, you’ve guessed it, younger workers getting hit hardest. 

If faced with the choice of getting the jab or getting paid, there are a lot of people who may very well choose to get paid, especially if they have the type of employer that’s unlikely to be sympathetic if they suffer from side-effects. They’re a breeze when compared to a brush with Covid-19, as I can confidently state having experienced both. But they can still knock you out for a day or two. 

The problem isn’t, perhaps, as serious an issue people as turning up to work when they should be self-isolating because Britain’s statutory sick pay is so miserable. 

But you’re still asking people to choose between their household finances and families on the one hand and their communities on the other. If they’re just about managing, have debts to worry about, maybe young children, then it’s understandable that their finances may win out.

The fact is, we shouldn’t be asking people to make such a choice. 

There are ways of tackling the problem. One might be, as the TUC has suggested, taking vaccination clinics out into workplaces.

This could also play a role in addressing any concerns employees might have about vaccination more generally. There’s nothing like having medical staff on site to explain that the jabs are safe, especially if they’ve had them themselves. 

But ministers should also start to put pressure on employers to see sense and play nice. 

Last week I discussed a Chartered Management Institute poll that found a clear majority of bosses (58 per cent) in favour of mandatory vaccination. The numbers willing to enforce no jab no job policies were lower (42 per cent) but that’s still significant. 

The TUC’s poll found that such policies are starting to be imposed. It found that 1 in 7 (14 per cent) of private sector companies have taken the step for new or even existing employees, despite the government expressing doubts about the legality in the case of the latter. 

To do that on the one hand, while refusing staff the time to get their shots on the other, is simply unconscionable. 

Businesses have undoubtedly had it tough during the pandemic and it is understandable that those forced to shutter will want all hands on deck when they are once again allowed to open their doors.

But the vaccination programme will only be truly effective against the virus if there is mass take up throughout the population, including by groups at lower risk from the virus. For the sake of both people’s lives and the economy, it needs to be successful. 

“Employers must play their part in Britain’s vaccine effort too,” says TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady. Indeed so, especially given the assistance from the state they have received to help them weather the storm. The government might care to remind them of that fact.