What do we already know? We updated you in our July 2021 Newsletter Government reforms (2): Coronavirus (Covid-19): Mandatory vaccinations for care home staff that the Government announced that from October 2021 anyone working in a registered care home providing nursing or personal care would need to be fully COVID-19 vaccinated with both doses. What’s…
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What do we already know? We updated you in our February 2021 Newsletter Coronavirus (Covid-19): Lockdown 3.0 – Government guidance  on the updates to the 14 workplace guides the Government had published to enable employers to operate safely (known as being “COVID secure”). What’s new? The Government has again updated its guidance on working safely…
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What do we already know? We updated you in our Issue 2 Newsletter Coronavirus (COVID-19): Vaccinations – Can employers insist? on the issues involved in introducing a mandatory vaccination policy.  We advised that in certain circumstances it would be more reasonable to make the vaccine mandatory.  In particular, an employer’s Covid-19 risk assessment may find…
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Summary:  Can a breach of the implied duty to take reasonable care of an employee’s health and safety be cured? Yes, but only before the breach becomes fundamental, says the EAT in Flatman v Essex County Council, available here. Background:  For employees to be successful in a constructive unfair dismissal claim they need to resign…
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ACAS has updated its guidance on the following: Vaccine: getting the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine for work (available here).  The Guidance now includes advice on: how to offer support to staff that are getting the vaccine; what employers should do if they feel it is important for staff to receive the   vaccine; and how to resolve…
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What do we already know? In our December 2020 Newsletter we updated you here on the High Court decision that the Government had not properly implemented various EU health and safety protections (The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain v The Secretary of State for Work & Pensions and another). In particular, the High Court…
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Currently, as the UK goes through its priority groups, we are not yet in a situation where everyone has had the opportunity to be vaccinated (whether they wish to be or not). In particular, the priority groups are primarily set on the basis of age. Therefore introducing a mandatory vaccination policy now would likely be…
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What do we already know? More than 112 organisations across almost 500 sites are offering rapid, regular workforce testing, and more than 2.5 million lateral flow tests have been distributed by the Government. Lateral flow is an established technology, adapted to detect proteins (antigens) that are present when a person has COVID-19. The test kit…
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What do we already know? We updated you in our August 2020 Newsletter Coronavirus (COVID-19): Updated guidance on returning to the workplace on the 14 workplace guides the Government had published to enable employers to operate safely (known as being “COVID secure”). What’s new? The Government has updated the majority of the 14 workplace guides…
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Summary:  Should workers have protection from being subjected to detriments on health and safety grounds, and the right to be provided with PPE, in the same way as employees? Yes, held the High Court in The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain v The Secretary of State for Work & Pensions and another (available here).…
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