UK's biggest care home provider HC-One to make Covid vaccine mandatory for all staff

HC-One, which runs 326 care homes in the UK, has revealed it is planning to make the Covid-19 vaccine a condition of employment for all of its staff across the UK.

The government announced in June that the Covid-19 vaccine will be mandatory for all care home staff in England from October. Currently the governments for Scotland and Wales have said they have no plans to introduce compulsory vaccination.

HC-One announced it is holding a consultation with staff and trade union partner, the GMB, on its proposal.

James Tugendhat, chief executive of HC-One, said: “We welcomed the UK government’s announcement that it would be legislating to require care home staff in England to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and we are going further by making having the Covid-19 vaccine a condition of employment for all HC-One colleagues, including our colleagues in Scotland and Wales, and all of our support teams.

“Our purpose is to be The Kind Care Company, supporting those in our care to lead their best life. We believe that safety is at the heart of this. We want our homes to be safe and open to visiting. We want the people we care for and their families to be able to come together. We can’t miss an opportunity to make this happen, which is why we are moving to make the Covid-19 vaccine a condition of employment at HC-One.”

He added: “This is the responsible step for us to take to protect the people we care for, as well as our colleagues” and said: “The evidence is clearly emerging that vaccination cuts transmission and substantially reduces the risk of hospitalisation.”

The move to make the Covid-19 vaccine a condition of employment follows months of giving staff factual information and reassurance about the vaccine, according to HC-One which has nearly 90 per of its staff vaccinated.

However the union GMB, which represents care workers, warned that HC-One faces a “landslide of legal action” if it goes ahead with the proposal. Kelly Andrews, GMB national care lead, said: “GMB has supported the vaccination programme and encouraged our members to take the opportunity to be vaccinated if they can.

“We’re aware some people don’t want to be – or can’t for a variety of reasons.

"HC-One faces a potential landslide of legal action if the company change people's terms and conditions unilaterally without taking into account why employees are unable to be vaccinated, or what alternative there might be to the dismissal.”

The union is concerned that by telling staff about the mandatory vaccination plan before consultation with GMB suggests the decision has already been made by HC-One.

"GMB intends to fully participate in the proposed consultation process, but there must be genuine negotiations for change or we will take further action,” added Ms Andrews.

GMB also wants to know why the changes are being implemented in Scotland and Wales where there is no mandate for compulsory vaccines.

The consultation process will run from mid-July through to early September. HC-One staff have been told the changes will come into effect from 13 September.

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