A number of employers have stopped paying sick-pay for unvaccinated members of staff forced to stay at home after coming into contact with people with Covid-19.
Current rules mean people who have not had a jab have to stay at home if they have been close to someone with the infection.
Because of their heightened immunity, double vaccinated people are still allowed out to work if they have been near someone suffering from Covid-19.
Last week Next Plc, which employs around 44,000 people, became one of a growing number of big employers deciding that unvaccinated staff forced to isolate due to close contact will only get statutory sick pay – unless there are mitigating circumstances.
Firms including Morrisons, Ikea and Wessex Water have also introduced similar policies.
However, Next said employees who actually test positive for Covid-19 – regardless of whether they are vaccinated – will be paid in full.
Many companies have witnessed a jump in absences in recent weeks due to the rapid spread of the Omicron strain of the virus.
Leicester law firm Lawson West said IKEA, which employs more than 10,000 people, now offers unvaccinated employees – without mitigating circumstances such as pregnancy, health or mental health issues – standard Statutory Sick Pay of £96.35 per isolation week.
A vaccinated member of staff would potentially get more than £400 per week for a 40-hour week.
Vaishali Thakerar, director and employment solicitor at Lawson West, said: “It is interesting that not only are we seeing US employers changing their Covid sick leave pay policies, but we are also starting to see this emerge in the UK as well.
“It seems that large employers are very concerned about the impact of Covid-related absence in the workplace, especially those who have a great deal to lose from multiple employees with simultaneous absences due to enforced Covid-19 isolation or illness.”
Some people have avoided vaccination after listening to conspiracy theories and false rumours about the jab widely circulated on social media.
Ms Thakerar said despite concerns that staff might be penalised for their personal choice not to be vaccinated, under current UK employment law employers that have taken action have acted fairly and within their obligations.
She said they have a duty of care to all their staff to keep them safe under Health and Safety laws, because:
Cutting pay due to Covid-19 absence acts as a deterrent to stop absences that could affect the performance and trading ability of the business as a whole
It saves the company from having to pay potentially considerable amounts of otherwise avoidable sick pay
It encourages more staff to be vaccinated
Ms Thakerar said: “This isn’t discrimination. It is all within the law.”
