BRITS should get double-jabbed before returning to the office but No 10 won’t make vaccination compulsory for workers, Grant Shapps has said.
The transport secretary insisted it’s a “good idea” for everyone who wants to end working from home to become fully vaccinated.
And he predicted many companies will start to enforce Covid papers as a policy for their staff who want to head back to their desks.
But the senior cabinet minister insisted there are no plans for the Government to pass laws requiring workers to be jabbed.
He made the remarks after Google and Facebook said they’ll only let vaccinated employees return to the office in the US.
The social media giants suggested the policy could be rolled out to staff based in other countries in the near future.
Mr Shapps said there is no need to mandate domestic vaccine passports for such use in the UK because of the high take up of jabs.
He said: “Fortunately in this country, as opposed to in the US, we have very little vaccine hesitancy.
“We’re not going to make it legislation that everyone has to be double vaccinated before they go back to the office.
“But yes it’s a good idea, and yes some companies will require it.”
High vaccine take-up
Just under 90% of Brits have had at least one jab, with seven in 10 of the population now fully vaccinated.
But uptake of the jab has been lower amongst younger cohorts, with only two-thirds of those in their 20s getting the shot.
Mr Shapps suggested the lure of foreign holidays later this summer could persuade those who are reluctant to sign up.
He said: “They will need to get vaccinated if they want to travel internationally again. It’s quite clear now.”
Fellow cabinet minister Dominic Raab also insisted it’s “smart” for firms to insist staff are double-jabbed before they return to offices.
The Foreign Secretary said he “can understand” why firms would want to adopt a tough stance to keep staff safe.
But No 10 distanced itself from his comments, saying it was up to individual businesses what to tell workers.
It came as the NHS app revealed a new “domestic” passport feature.
To download the QR code, users need either a negative test, to have had Covid in the past six months, to be double-jabbed or have another exemption.
UK venues can choose to ask for these codes, but they are not yet required by law.
Mr Raab admitted for the first time ministers are trying to use vaccine passports to “cajole” younger Brits into getting jabbed.
But he hinted they would be ditched if enough get vaccinated.
When asked if he agreed with jabs for jobs, Mr Raab said: “I can understand why employers think that would be a smart policy.
