RESIDENTS and bosses at care homes have “wept” for the staff they have lost over the government’s “no jab, no job” policy.

The government required homes to sack employees who refused to be vaccinated against Covid – but is planning a U-turn after abandoning attempts to introduce the same policy in the NHS.

Mandy Kittlety, managing director of the Luxury Care Group, with five homes in Bournemouth and Poole, said she had lost around 45 staff through sackings or resignations over the issue. 

“I’ve wept for the people we’ve lost and our residents have wept too,” she said.

“We’ve lost 11 per cent of our workforce, which was much better than we feared initially. Initially we thought we had about 26 per cent of our staff that weren’t vaccinated.

“One staff member has worked for us for 14 years and she had real reasons. She was trying to get pregnant. She said, ‘I can’t do this’.

“That woman had moved into one of our care homes for months in the first wave and sat by people’s bedsides when they were ill.

“I could think of nine or 10 staff who left that way and had really long relationships with the people they care for. They provided excellent care – they were born to care.”

She said some ex-staff were still looking for work because care “was the only job they ever wanted”, while others were working in supermarkets or in home care, which was not subject to the same laws.

Other unvaccinated staff were continuing to work, with risk assessments in place, because they had been waiting months for GPs to sign paperwork declaring them exempt, she said.

“All of us knew the moment they got to the NHS, they would backtrack, because it’s so huge,” she added.

Health secretary Sajid Javid recently launched a two-week consultation over plans to drop the vaccination requirement.

Kate Brooks, partner and head of employment at Ellis Jones Solicitors in Bournemouth, said: “Even if the U-turn on mandatory vaccinations goes ahead, employers will still be expected to create a safe place of work for employees, and staff in health and social care settings will still be urged to be vaccinated and will need to consider carefully how to communicate and ongoing requirements to employees.”

She added: “Care home owners can be forgiven for feeling particularly aggrieved that the change is only being considered now after many employees have already left the sector.

“They will need to consider updating policies and contracts on the use of vaccines along with those in healthcare, social care and other Care Quality Commission settings to reflect the changing position in law.”

Amy Cousineau Massey, Poole-based consultant employment solicitor with Woodstock Legal Services, said: “If the government does act on its intention to revoke the mandatory vaccination rules, that would mean that unvaccinated care home employees could be re-hired, although it is likely that any employee going back to work for their former employer would not have continuity of service.

“I can understand why care home owners and managers may be disgruntled by these developments. However, it is worth noting that a number of care homes took the decision to dismiss unvaccinated employees even before the government changed the rules and made vaccination a requirement.

“A reversal by the government on the mandatory requirement may not change the policies that each care home puts in place to protect its vulnerable residents. Each care home will need to decide its stance on this issue and whether or not, having geared up to only employ vaccinated individuals, they will want to relax their recruitment processes and change their policies.”