UK plumbing firm to make workers get vaccinations | Hacker News Reader

UK plumbing firm to make workers get vaccinations

bbc.co.uk

URL is BBC homepage. This seems to be the correct article URL https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55654229

Indeed it is. Sorry for the typo.

Where to begin. Another firm that will trample on supposed labour rights and unilaterally modify contracts? Not even surprised any more. Disgusting.

And abusing their position as an employer in a terrible recession.

And firing existing employees for not getting the vaccine?

I’d love this to go to court

It's the first story of it's kind I've read. It's a very different situation to being denied a flight, for example.

That said, the Italian health service has apparently made vaccination compulsory, and that doesn't sound like a bad idea at all.

Private firms though? Especially when the workers don't necessarily have to be in direct contact with customers? There should at least be a dialogue with the employees.

Heck, there'd be a better argument out there for compulsory vaccinations for judges, lawyers and politicians, over plumbers.

Companies imposing unilateral contract changing with fire and rehire is certainly nothing new.

A dialogue is basically a prerequisite and bare minimum to make it not appear like a unilateral contract variation. So I’d hope they are doing that.

We all know what would happen to those who don’t agree. Less work, worse conditions etc basically slow constructive dismissal.

Hopefully this was just a PR stunt

This is, as far as I can tell, residential plumbers. They go into people's houses. And usually, that involves direct contact with people, at least at the beginning and end of the process.

Maybe it's different in the UK, but that's how it was in the US when I had my water heater replaced a few months ago. They wore masks when talking with me, but did the chin-sling bit while working. I kept away (and my high-risk roommates further away), but I'd have been a lot more comfortable had they been vaccinated. I'd preferentially hire the company who could provide that.

So to me, residential plumbers fit in the same category as others who work with the public, like wait staff and grocery store clerks. I'd be all for getting judges, lawyers, and politicians vaccinated mandatorily just to show confidence, but their work can be done remotely or at least at a distance. That's harder with somebody who comes into your house.

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