Can your boss demand you get vaccinated for COVID-19?
It’s a popular question these days, according to Howard Levitt, Canada’s leading employment and labour relations lawyer.
Levitt says the issue of vaccination in the workplace creates several issues for employers, but adds they can refuse to allow an employee to return to work until they are vaccinated.
He says COVID-19 is much more dangerous than the common cold or flu and while an individual employee may scoff at the idea of a vaccination, their employer has a duty of care to all employees to provide a safe workplace.
That means employees may be required to continue to work from home until they are vaccinated and that’s only if the employer permits employees to work from their homes, which may become less likely when vaccines are available.
Those that refuse to be vaccinated or make an issue about being vaccinated may simply never return to work and that can lead to dismissal.
For more details on COVID-19 and employment law, please click here.
