Holy orders: Vatican rolls out ‘no jab, no job’ policy
The Vatican has issued a decree to its 5,000 staff warning that those who refuse a Covid vaccination may be fired.
Employees at the holy site must have a documented medical reason for refusing a jab or face “consequences of various degrees which may go as far as the termination of employment”, said Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, governor of the Vatican City.
The decree, which cites a 2011 Vatican law, will also apply to job applicants, stating that the Holy See may not hire them if they refuse to be vaccinated.
“Refusing vaccination could also be a risk for others [and] seriously increase risks to public health,” the seven-page decree says.
The document also details fines of between €25 and €50 euros for failing to observe social distancing measures and charges of up to €1,500 euros for breaking quarantine rules.
The Vatican began vaccinating its employees for free last month. Pope Francis, aged 84, and his 93-year-old predecessor pope Benedict XVI have both received the jab.
The Pope has previously expressed his support for Covid jabs, saying in an interview with an Italian TV station last month: “It is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others.”
British companies have already begun to draw up “no jab, no job” contracts after the government earlier this week admitted it was “up to businesses” to decide how to enforce vaccination requirements.
Barchester Healthcare, which runs more than 200 care homes across the country, said it will not hire new staff who refuse the Covid-19 vaccine on non-medical grounds.
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Several UK law firms, which declined to be named, added that said some companies were also looking at requiring existing employees to have coronavirus jabs before returning to the office.
It comes after Pimlico Plumbers last month became the first company to announce it would introduce a “no jab, no job” policy in an interview with Morning Wire last month.
Charlie Mullins, founder of the London plumbing firm, said lawyers were currently working on making vaccinations against coronavirus mandatory for its 400-strong workforce.
“We’re going to change their contracts to say — whatever the wording might be — that you’re required to have a vaccine. It’s going to be standard,” said Mullins.
However, his comments raised questions over the legality of “no jab, no job” policies, with the government insisting companies could not make vaccinations mandatory.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said earlier this month that “taking a vaccine is not mandatory and it would be discriminatory to force somebody to take one”.
Passports
Boris Johnson has also ruled out the introduction of “domestic vaccine passports” for entry to venues such as cinemas, nightclubs and pubs on moral grounds.
However, vaccines deployment minister Nadhim Zahawi said yesterday that “its up to businesses what they do” to enforce vaccine requirements. He had previously warned that the use of domestic vaccine passports would be “wrong”.
More than 16m people in the UK have now received their first dose of the vaccine, with latest data showing the jabs not only prevent against serious disease but may reduce transmission by up to two thirds.