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People could use a revamped NHS app to prove their Covid status when entering pubs or theaters in England based on plans ministers are considering, as a major care provider said staff have two months to get hit or to lose his job.
The ministers are expected to give companies in England the power to verify Covid certification, whether the people have been vaccinated or the result of recent tests. That will include small-scale places like restaurants or bars.
However, the equality watchdog and unions have said that any measure based solely on vaccine certification could be illegal and that passes should not be used to relax Covid security measures in places of job.
One method that is being considered in a review led by Michael Gove is to review an NHS app, which could be used to demonstrate vaccination status or the result of a recent test. It is unclear whether people would be able to upload the results of the self-administered lateral flow tests.
Boris Johnson said he understood that “fervent libertarians” could oppose a Covid certification scheme for England, a phrase that might surprise some of its proponents. However, he said there was “a case for” when people needed to prove their status.
Downing Street sources said that companies could already use their discretion over who they served, within the discrimination law.
The review is expected to be completed to allow for the introduction of the measures before the roadmap reaches its final phase on June 21, when the government hopes to lift all social restrictions, although advice could still be given on the hand washing, the use of masks and social distancing. be in place.
The ministers also plan to set parameters on how employers can operate with regards to vaccination and testing. Some employers, like Pimlico Plumbers, have already said that they will require their staff to be vaccinated. There is concern that people may feel they will lose access to services and the review will look at what protections can be put in place.
Dr Pete Calveley, CEO of Barchester Healthcare, the UK’s second-largest home care provider, said its 17,000 employees were told this week that if they choose not to get vaccinated despite being eligible, they will stop offering them shifts. from the end of April.
Around 5% of workers in 240 nursing homes have refused a coup for non-medical reasons, so steps had to be taken to protect residents, some of whom only want to be cared for by staff who have been vaccinated, He said.
Replacement staff will be asked to prove they have received a Covid vaccination by providing a document from the myGP app showing they received it on a certain date.
Dr. Calveley said the vast majority of his staff support the policy, and polls he commissioned from YouGov showed the same is true of public opinion.
Barchester has also received legal advice, he added, and said there may be “a widespread view that there is a compelling reason for you to do this and that you actually overcome the problem of being discriminatory.”
When asked if the new measure could lead to a staff shortage, Calveley said: “It could work. It could be 10 to 12 employees in some households, zero in many and one or two in others. “
The Unison union has said it could challenge employers who “pressure” employees to comply. Its general secretary, Christina McAnea, said that “scaring or intimidating people into complying will do more harm than good.”
She added: “Employers cannot be allowed to pressure staff into jabbing, and certificates should not be used as a stick to threaten them.
“Doing so could have dire consequences for the care industry, which is already struggling to fill thousands of vacancies.”
Any move to require Covid certification to enter smaller venues, rather than mass events, is likely to cause a backlash from Conservative MPs, though ministers believe the option of having a negative test as an alternative will appease advocates .
Sources have suggested that ministers hope to avoid scenarios in which vaccination is the only way to gain access to do something, and have emphasized the importance of combining testing and vaccination.
Scotland’s Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has gone further and said that vaccine passports are “worth considering”.
Sturgeon said, however, that he would not support its use to access public services. She added: “I don’t close my mind to this, but I think, like everyone else, we want to think about it carefully.”
A similar scheme is underway in Israel, which has begun to lift lockdown restrictions due to its advanced vaccination program, opening places like gyms, hotels and synagogues.
Those places require a “green passport,” a certificate in an application issued by the Ministry of Health, valid for six months and available one week after the second dose of the vaccine.
Johnson confirmed that the certification can not only be used for large-scale events, but also for smaller venues like pubs. “This is an area in which we seek something new for our country. We haven’t had things like this before, ”he said.
“We never think in terms of having something you have to show to go to a pub or a theater, so there are deep and complex problems that we must explore. Ethical questions about what is the role of the government in forcing people to have such things or, in fact, prohibiting people from doing those things. “
A Conservative MP said there was “great concern” in conservative WhatsApp groups about how certification would work, but said many would be convinced if tests were allowed as proof of status and vaccination.
Another said: “I would never, ever support getting vaccine certificates going into pubs. At that point, it is no longer a free choice. We cannot coerce people, regardless of our opinion. But I don’t have a problem with the test results, and I think that’s where we’ll end up. “
But the Equality and Human Rights Commission said vaccine certificates could lead to “illegal discrimination.”
They added that while returning to normal life is “a priority for most of us,” the certificates should not be introduced because of the risk that they “harm people who have not received the vaccine, unless it can be shown that they are justified “.
TUC Secretary General Frances O’Grady said she wanted as many people as possible to be vaccinated, but the government should consider the powers it would give employers.
“Receiving a vaccine, or being able to show that you have had it, should not be a condition of employment. It can be discriminatory and open up employers to legal challenge, ”he said. “And employers should not use vaccination or testing programs as an excuse to loosen coronavirus safety at work.”
Dan Shears of the GMB union said he was also concerned that employers would use them to remove protective measures.
“Then, obviously, there are discriminatory aspects for those who cannot be vaccinated due to health or pregnancy reasons, which could potentially violate both the employment and equality laws,” he said.
Gove will also lead a second review on social distancing, which will examine advice on home work and whether restaurants and bars can be allowed to reach full capacity. But it will also examine some of the complexities of advice on human contact, including when it is safe to allow people to hug.
The guidance on the roadmap says the government will update its advice on social distancing between friends and family, including hugs, before May 17.
