Official documents shows that healthcares staff including NHS workers who are unvaccinated which face being sacked as a result will not be entitled to receive any form of an exit payment.
Healthcare employers who have not received their vaccinations have been informed that from 4 February they should be invited to a meeting whereby they could face dismissal.
All frontline workers muct be fully vaccinated by 1 April, which means they must have had their first vaccination by 3 February under the guidance published on Friday means a Vaccination is a Condition of Deployment (VCOD).
The document which is 24 pages long says in part, “It is important to note this is not a redundancy exercise. In the context of the regulations, there is no diminishment or cessation of work of a particular kind.
“Employers will not be concerned with finding ‘suitable alternative employment’ and there will be no redundancy entitlements, including payments, whether statutory or contractual, triggered by this process.
“The redeployment or dismissal of workers is determined by the introduction of the regulations and an individual’s decision to remain unvaccinated.
“Whilst organisations are encouraged to explore redeployment, the general principles which apply in a redundancy exercise are not applicable here, and it is important that managers are aware of this.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said that staff who work in the sector are “responsible for looking after some of the most vulnerable people in society, many of whom are more likely to suffer serious health consequences if exposed to the virus.”
The spokesperson added, “This is about patient safety, and ensuring people in hospital or care have as much protection as possible.
“Vaccinations remain our best defence against Covid-19.”