Anyone in HR? C19 Vaccine query

[prettyrainbows]

Am due to go for a job interview in an office next week.

They were previously very hot on regarding staff being vaccinated against Covid 19.

It's a not a health care setting, just a general office HQ.

Can they still ask if you are vaccinated/turn you down if not - or is this discrimination now?

I'm not vaccinated due to personal reasons.

Thanks for any advice

It’s not a protected characteristic (unless you’ve not been able to be vaccinated because of a disability), so I suspect they could.

I very much doubt they’d bother asking, though.

I don't think they can ask you medical information as part of recruitment unless it is something that is allowed by law eg in certain health settings. It's certainly not something I was asked recently, only if I needed adaptations for the interview

As said if their policy is to recruit vaccinated staff, then they can ask you. Unless you aren't vaccinated because of medical reasons, then they can deny you employment. It might be an old policy, though.

Bump

I work for a trade union. The advice from our legal team to members is that you would need to demonstrate that this is a longstanding and genuine belief (anti-vaccination), and even then, the company would be able to counter-argue that enforcing vaccination is a proportionate means to achieve a legitimate aim.

It's different if there is a genuine medical reason why you cannot be vaccinated.

I'm not convinced that they will ask you at this stage - the fuss around vaccination status seems to have tailed off.

Would you really want to work for a company that is going to view your personal health choices so negatively and potentially treat you differently because of them? It would make me wonder what their viewpoint is on other personal health decisions.

Can't you just say you are if they ask? I mean it's pretty unethical to lie but I don't think you should be asked in the first place. It's not relevant?

I'd rather be honest if asked, I think lies always catch up with you.

Is it even legal for them to insist that you need the vaccination to be able to be employed by them ?

Great idea! Start your new job by lying to your employer. That'll help OPs career!

The tribunal cases are still ongoing in regards the mandatory jabs! There was talk about the jab breaching the equality act as some backgrounds had a lower uptake, it could be indirect discrimination.

are they still mandating the jab? Is there any reason to do so?

medical data is sensitive and under gdpr it has to processed correctly, so it’s not just the case of recording it all in your file with a copy of jabs

im struggling to understand the justification for an office setting tho

National employees union are great. Search for them on FB. There will be advice there.

Some unions are not so great.

I work in a health care setting and have interviewed a couple of times recently. Honestly didn’t think to even ask the question. It is not mandatory for NHS etc, so I don’t think it should be for anywhere else.