John Lewis stated that its entire staff would receive sick pay for Covid absences even though they may not be vaxxed.
Andrew Murphy, John Lewis’s operations director, said that he didn’t ‘cast any judgment’ on the matter and that it wouldn’t be right to pay unvaccinated employees less.
It comes after Morrisons, Ikea, Ocado and Next all revealed they would only give unjabbed staff £96.35 a week if they have to isolate with Covid – the legal minimum.
Mr Murphy said in a Linkedin post: ‘We’re conscious that some businesses have changed their sick pay policy with regard to unvaccinated employees in some Covid-related absence scenarios.
‘[But]We don’t think it is right to link a partner’s vaccine status with the amount they get.
“As life seems increasingly to offer opportunities to cause division, and as hopes rise that the pandemic stage of Covid might be ending soon, we believe that this is our best option.
Andrew Murphy, John Lewis’s operations director, said that workers who are not vaccinated will get full sick leave
Asda, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s all claim that they offer full sick pay to unvaccinated employees when they are isolated.
Next employs approximately 44,000 workers. Next announced earlier in the month that any employee who tests positive for Covid-19, regardless of their vaccination status, will receive full compensation.
Unvaccinated employees who have been identified by the virus as close contacts will be required to receive sick pay, unless mitigating circumstances exist.
The policy, comes after employees witnessed a jump in absences in recent weeks due to the rapid spread of the Omicron strain of the virus.
Next currently pays store sales staff and stock assistants between £6.55 and £9.21 an hour and warehouse operatives between £9.30 and £11.26 an hour.
However, unvaccinated staff who have not tested positive but are self-isolating could receive as little at £96.35 per week, the national minimum for statutory sick pay.
Morrisons, in September announced that they would reduce sick pay for employees who are not vaccinated. This was to encourage more people to have the jab.
David Potts is the chief executive officer of this Bradford-based company. He said that pay increases were part of a strategy for mitigating cost rises due to shortages in HGV drivers and supply chain disruptions.
Ikea, a retail giant, said that its policies had to adapt to changing circumstances. It reduced sick pay for employees who were not vaccinated and had to isolate themselves from Covid.
Last month was a good month for self-isolation. But there were no adjustments to guidelines for people not vaccinated who are in direct contact with positive cases.
The move means unvaccinated workers, who are required by the Government to isolate for 10 days after close contact, could receive as little as £96.35 a week under Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) obligations, a legal minimum.
That compares with the average pay for Ikea shopfloor staff of £10.10 an hour outside London and £11.30 in the capital – the equivalent of £404 and £452 for an average working week.
Ikea has more than 10,000 employees in the UK and 21 stores.
“We understand that this emotive topic can be difficult to discuss and will consider all cases individually. We encourage anyone with doubts or concerns to contact their manager.”
Santander, Asda and other companies have encouraged their employees to get a coronavirus jab. They also offer paid time off for vaccines.