Sick pay slashed for unvaccinated staff that are forced to self-isolate

A growing list of firms and businesses are changing their rules to cut the amount of sick pay those who are required to self-isolate due to COVID exposure will receive.

Ikea has become the latest big name to reduce the sick pay entitlement for some of their unvaccinated staff and this means that those workers who are required by the Government to self-isolate for 10 days after close contact with someone who has the virus may only receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) at the rate of £96.35 (the rate for 2021 to 2022).

The Government announced that those who had received two doses of the vaccine were no longer required to self-isolate under law despite being identified as a close contact of someone who registered a positive COVID-19 test. However, unvaccinated workers contacted by NHS Test and Trace and still legally required to self-isolate.

Ikea said in a statement: “Fully vaccinated co-workers or those with mitigating circumstances will receive full pay for self-isolations.

“Unvaccinated co-workers will be paid in line with our company absence policy for self-isolation, with close-contact isolation being paid at Statutory Sick Pay.

“We appreciate that this is an emotive topic and all circumstances will be considered on a case by case basis, therefore anyone in doubt or concerned about their situation is encouraged to speak to their manager.”

While being paid SSP may seem unjust, a significant amount of employers only pay discretionary sick pay and so there is no obligation for them to pay anything over the SSP rate.

Ikea joins Wessex Water and Morrisons as some of the biggest names who are altering their sick pay policy in response to some workers refusing to get vaccinated.

From 10^th January 2022, any Wessex Water employee who has not had at least once coronavirus vaccination and does not have a medical exemption or future vaccination appointment, will also only receive SSP should they be required to self-isolate due to close contact with someone who has the virus.

Morrisons have run a similar policy since October 2021, while other major companies such as Citigroup have imposed a “no jab, no job” policy. Delta Airlines have also imposed a surcharge on unvaccinated staff members of its healthcare plan.

It is expected that, by imposing these restrictions and penalties on the unvaccinated, it will encourage them to get the vaccine.

At this stage, it is currently untested in UK case law as to whether this may amount to discrimination, however It is extremely important to note that a claim for discrimination may only be viable should it involve a protected characteristic (sex, age etc).

In the example of vaccination, the only protected characteristic that may be arguable is that of religion/belief. For further information on this, please click here for our article on the reluctance of getting the COVID-19 vaccine at work.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

Get in touch today for a no-obligation consultation. Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page, or call us on 0113 200 9720 to find out how we can help you.