From 11th November 2021, all care home staff in England will have to have been double jabbed. It is up to the the care home provider to ensure that nobody enters the care home unless they are double jabbed and show evidence to confirm this. There are some exceptions, however, as follows:
- they are residents
- they are friends or relatives of residents
- they are providing emergency help (e.g. emergency services, or emergency maintenance)
- they are under 18 years old
- they can provide evidence that they cannot be vaccinated for clinical reasons
Care home providers are asked to encourage staff and others to get their jabs. They will need to have their first jab by no later than 16th September to allow an 8-week gap between doses, so as to meet the 11th November deadline.
We are still waiting for further guidance, but clearly one concern is what to do with staff who refuse to be vaccinated and are not exempt. I expect that this would give reasonable grounds for dismissal, but we need to wait for further guidance in the hope that this will be clarified.
In the meantime, we would advise you to notify your staff of this legislation, encourage them to have their jabs ASAP and provide as much information as you can relating to the benefits of vaccination and how they can get their jabs. |
