Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Mandatory Covid vaccines: Union warns of staffing shortage in care homes

Some care providers have made the vaccine mandatory for staff
Some care providers have made the vaccine mandatory for staff

Trade union leaders in Scotland are warning that making the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory for care workers risks worsening a staff shortage.

Unison Scotland says it has taken up several cases across the country of staff who have lost their jobs after refusing to be vaccinated.

It comes after we reported how one of Scotland’s largest care providers has started to dismiss staff who have refused to get the jab.

HC-One says that whilst 97% of staff have been vaccinated, those who have refused and who do not have an exemption on health grounds are being removed from their posts.

Some care homes have made the vaccine mandatory for staff

Balhousie Care Group, another large provider with care homes in Tayside and Fife, says all new recruits to the company will now be required to be double vaccinated.

Unlike in England, where the Covid vaccine will become mandatory for all those working in social care, no such legal mandate has been introduced by the Scottish Government.

John Mooney, Unison Scotland’s head of social care, says the union is fighting individual cases involving carers.

He said: “We believe staff shouldn’t be dismissed, we have a similar position to the Scottish Government – that you should treat non-vaccination through a series of education and supportive methods.

Unison has questioned whether making the vaccine mandatory will help

“We don’t believe making it mandatory resolves any issues, and the move by companies to dismiss staff goes directly against their complaints about staff shortages.

Companies are struggling with staff shortages, but then dismissing staff for, in our view, an unnecessary reason.”

Mr Mooney also questions whether a legal requirement will even encourage more people to take up the vaccination.

‘There is no evidence it actually helps’

He added: “There is no evidence it actually helps. It’s just putting more barriers up whilst we try to resolve the staffing crisis, making it more difficult to recruit.”

A spokesperson for Balhousie told The Courier: “We have no policy to dismiss current staff for choosing to not be vaccinated against Covid-19 and who don’t have an exemption.

“However, as care providers to some of society’s most vulnerable people, we believe we have a professional responsibility and a duty to our residents and staff to reduce the risks of Covid-19 in our facilities.

“For that reason, new recruits are required to be vaccinated unless there is a valid reason not to.”