More than one in five employers (21%) in Scotland plan to implement a “no-jab, no-job” policy for existing staff in the year ahead.
This is according to research from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) Scotland, which also found that for existing staff, 51% said they will not be implementing such a policy, while a further fifth (22%) said they were not sure.
For new staff, more than a quarter of employers (27%) said yes, while 44% said no and 24% said that they did not know.
The YouGov survey was carried out among 1,074 adults, of which 75 were from Scotland, during March and April.
There is currently no law in England, Scotland or Wales that says employees must have the vaccine. The government removed the previous requirements for care home, health and social care staff on 15 March.
Acas advice is that it is best to support staff to get the Covid-19 vaccine rather than requiring them to get it.
Ian Proctor, assistant director for Scotland at Acas, said: “Most businesses in Scotland have no plans to require staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in the year ahead, but more than one in five do want to make it a requirement for existing staff.
“However, this is a very tricky area of employment law and it’s a good idea for employers in Scotland to get legal advice if they are thinking of bringing in a vaccine policy.”
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