The Claimants were employed by the Respondent healthcare provider until they were dismissed in May/June 2021 for refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in accordance with the Respondent’s policy requiring all staff to be vaccinated unless medically exempt. The Respondent adopted the policy approximately 6 months in advance of the government mandating the same policy for all care homes by way of legislation in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021, which came into force in November 2021 and were revoked in March 2022. The ET found the claimants’ dismissals to be fair and the Claimants appealed.

The EAT dismissed the appeal. There was no error of law in the ET’s decision. It had properly applied s98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and properly concluded that the Claimants’ dismissals were compatible with their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998. It had rightly concluded that the Respondent’s policy did not involve the imposition of a mandatory requirement to submit to medical treatment in abrogation of the claimant’s right to free and informed consent. It had rightly concluded that the interference with the Claimants’ Article 8 rights was justified in pursuit of the Respondent’s aims of (among other things) protecting care home residents’ rights to life under Article 2.