Mandatory Vaccination Revoked in Health and Social Care Sectors
Following the recent Government consultation, regulations revoking the requirement for mandatory COVID vaccinations in the Health and Social Care sectors are now in force.
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) (no 3) Regulations 2022 (Regulations) came into force on 15 March 2022, meaning the 1 April deadline for health and social care staff to be fully vaccinated has now fallen away. Corresponding guidance on vaccination as a condition of employment has also been withdrawn.
With the Regulations coming into force just some two weeks before the intended 1 April deadline, employers might well have been mid-way through formal processes intended to terminate the employment of unvaccinated staff when the policy change was announced. Those processes are likely to have been paused pending the Government's consultation, and can now be definitely halted.