You can read more about the Operational guidance on the GOV.uk website, and find out more about the regulations in our previous article.
The guidance makes it clear that as long as the employer follows a fair process, the regulations may provide a fair reason for dismissal.
In our we advised that employers must always follow a fair dismissal process, which will involve meeting with the employee to understand the reasons for their refusal to take the vaccine and to allow an exploration of the alternatives to dismissal.
Employers should also consider the potential reputational risk and risk to workplace relations before dismissing an employee for refusing a COVID-19 vaccine before the new legislation is in force.
Employers will be protected from discrimination claims on the grounds of age, disability, religion or belief and will not breach the Equality Act on these grounds by following their requirements under the regulations when working to make sure that unvaccinated care workers do not enter a care home.
These exceptions will be important for those employers who may have to dismiss staff as a result of the regulations, as long as a fair procedure is otherwise followed and the dismissal is carried out in a fair and non-discriminatory way.
However, employers should note that this exception does not apply to race, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership discrimination. Employers should therefore be exceptionally mindful of this.