Britain: employment vacancies are being advertised for the first time only to those with Covid-19 vaccinations

“Had your vaccine and looking for an exciting new role? We are looking to add to our in-house maintenance team.” This is Pimlico Plumbers’ Twitter post from 09 June that is looking to hire six additional members of staff (plumbers, carpenters, electricians and painters), all of whom must have received the Covid-19 vaccine. Pimlico Plumbers is a London-based company employing about 450 people. Early in 2021 it announced it would soon be placing ‘no jab no job’ employment adverts, a practice deemed legal by the government (c.f. article No.12374). The chairman of Pimlico Plumbers, Charlie Mullins said, “Insisting all new workers are vaccinated is nothing more than common sense. Ultimately, it will protect my staff and our customers from this awful virus and will also help get the economy heading in the right direction.” HR experts are divided so far on the move, which they say may not become widespread. In an interview with HR magazine, Kate Palmer, HR advice and consultancy director at Peninsula Group maintained, “The difficulty for employers will be that each situation will be unique to its own circumstances so it is difficult to pull out trends.” Some observers are pointing to the risk that complaints will be filed against these “no jab no job” contracts on the basis of discrimination.