Blackstone in London Sets Vaccination Rule for Working in Office

Another related concern is that the company could be accused of discrimination if someone has not been vaccinated for medical or religious reasons and is treated differently from other staff members because they are not in the office. But if companies can show they have a justifiable reason to collect this data and the request is a proportionate measure to achieve a legitimate purpose, the legal risks are reduced, says Lucy Lewis, business attorney and partner of Lewis Silkin.

“The challenge for employers is that you are just taking other Covid safety precautions within the business?” said Mrs. Lewis. “For example, if you continue to maintain social distancing, can you test that vaccination is reasonable in an organization if there is an element to wearing a mask?”

It’s more common for companies to ask people to double-vaccinate, or to have proof of a negative Covid test available for free in the UK, to enter the office, he said. Working in the office is not waiting for vaccines to become the norm in the UK.

“Whether it’s possible depends mainly on you being able to show a court that doing so is necessary in your business,” Ms Lewis said. “In business types with lots of very vulnerable people, it’s much more likely to be reasonable because the risk for those people is much greater.”

UK goes the farthest in mandating vaccinations in nursing homes for work. The government said that anyone who works or volunteers in nursing homes should be vaccinated starting November 11, unless they are medically exempt. Even to take this step, Parliament had to pass a new law, which is now subject to legal challenges.

Vaccination uptake is high in the UK, with 78 per cent of the population over the age of 12 vaccinated. But there is inequalities between age groups, younger cohorts are less likely to be vaccinated. exists in the United States some evidence that vaccination requirements increase rates over 90 percent of companies.

Businesses can decide who can and cannot enter their facilities, especially for health and safety reasons. But in the case of the coronavirus, if other measures such as wearing masks, ventilation and social distancing can reduce the risks, then it is difficult to justify blocking people’s entry, Ms Cudbill said.

“I think they can justify it, but they just need to think about how it happened and make sure it’s not just a momentary reaction,” he said. “Because it will be difficult. There is absolutely no doubt.”