Healthcare staff who refuse the Covid vaccine can be sacked.

An employment tribunal has ruled that healthcare staff who refuse the Covid vaccine can be sacked.

In what is believed to be the first published case of its kind, the tribunal, held in Leeds, decided care home bosses acted fairly when they fired several members of staff for turning down the jab. The judge said that the home had fired the unvaccinated staff in order to protect vulnerable lives, and threw out claims of unfair dismissal.

One of Britain's biggest care providers, Barchester Healthcare dismissed five healthcare workers for declining Covid-19 vaccinations without any medical exemption. Barchester Healthcare runs more than 250 care homes and seven registered hospitals, employing more than 17,000 staff in care homes.

The three care assistants, one nurse, and a laundry worker - one of whom believes "God will protect" her from coronavirus - argued they should not have lost their jobs for refusing to comply with the company's jab scheme, stating that they turned down the vaccine due to their spiritual and philosophical beliefs.

However, the employment tribunal ruled that the workers had not been fired without good reason, deciding that such a move was "necessary in a democratic society" and the healthcare firm had the "legitimate aim" of "minimising the risk of death and serious illness" among residents and staff."

Employment Judge Neil Maidment recognised that the reason for sacking the workers, while "unusual", was "genuine and substantial," and said the company "believed its policy of [subject to medical exemption] only employing vaccinated care home staff would save lives. The tribunal concludes that any interference with human rights in the circumstances of this case was proportionate," he added.

Barchester Healthcare took pains to reaffirm that it recognised vaccines could not be mandated and that vaccination was the choice of the individual. The chief executive, Pete Calveley, previously made an announcement to staff saying that protecting vulnerable care home residents by receiving the vaccine was part of a "moral and ethical duty to do the right thing."

Judge Maidment told the tribunal: "[Barchester Healthcare] was seeking to minimise the risk of death, putting genuine value on the saving of any resident's life. Any contrary attitude from a care home provider might have been regarded as disturbing."

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