>Furniture retailer Ikea has cut sick pay for unvaccinated UK staff who are forced to self-isolate because of close contact with someone with Covid-19, it has emerged.
>Unvaccinated workers at Ikea are only eligible for statutory sick pay of £96.35 a week during 10 days of isolation, compared with weekly pay of more than £400 before tax for an average worker on the shop floor.
they are paying the legally required amount to unvaccinated people while offering MORE than the legally required amount to fully vaccinated people.
>People in England who are fully vaccinated – with at least two doses of most of the approved vaccines – are not required to self-isolate if they have been in close contact with someone infected with Covid-19. However, unvaccinated people contacted through the government’s test-and-trace system must still self-isolate by law. Other nations of the UK have set similar rules.
it does not say what pay is offered to people who have contracted COVID and test +ve though.
Is this legal? As much as I can’t stand anti vaxers, determining pay based on someone’s medical records seems like the thin end of the wedge.
I keep trying to muster up sympathy for anti-vaxx people who have obviously been victims of grifters in the same way I try to be sympathetic towards Leave voters who got suckered by the Eton mess but bloody hell it is hard.
People seem to miss the fact that this isn’t cutting sick pay for *people who are ill* , it’s about going back to normal for people *who are not ill* but have to isolate because they have been in contact with someone who was ill *because they are unvaccinated*. Theoretically you can go it and about , constantly meet people who then test positive and keep then self isolating while being paid. If they were vaccinated they wouldn’t have to isolate.
I note that instead of saying staff are off sick the media and government are now using the phrase “staff absence”. Prepare for a “war on skivers” by the Daily Mail and similar in the coming weeks.
Being unvaccinated doesn’t make someone an anti-vaxxer.
If you catch COVID, the immunity your body develops will give better protection than the vaccine would give you.
If you’ve had COVID in the last three months, you’re not supposed to get the vaccine because it can cause an adverse reaction.
If you work in a public-facing staff role, you’ve almost certainly had COVID at some point – and most likely more than once. As a result, the chances of you having a better immune response to the virus over someone who is vaccinated is pretty high.
​
I think it’s time we stop the vaccination programs, stop the demonisation of ‘the unvaccinated’ and handle COVID the same way we handle the Flu – prioritise the vulnerable, but otherwise leave it to personal discretion. Mandated jabs for everyone would have made sense *at the very start*, but now? It’s just a waste of time for the majority of people, and a waste of money and resources for the country,
At the same time, we can then also drop anti-vaxxers from the news cycle entirely – a movement no doubt bolstered by all the attention it’s received over the last few years.
Do you want infected people going to work? cause this is how you get infected people going to work.
That will just make more people go back to work instead of self-isolating
Block the test and trace number (0300 0135 000) on your phone and this situation will never arise 👍
Why are you giving sick pay to people who aren’t sick?
The only ones who have to self-isolate because of a close contact are the unvaccinated, everyone else is free to get on with their lives.
Their choice, make them pay the consequences. Use your annual leave or GTFO.
Anti-vaxxers “my body my choice”
Ikea “our money our choice”
Instead of paying £400+ they’ll pay statutory sick pay which is basically £100 pw.
​
Edit: Also anti-vaxxers “freedom for me, not for thee, downvote”
Unacceptable.
Vaxines are just ridiculous!!!!
How are you going to Vax the world population every 6 months. Remember it’s only valid for 6 months.
Absolutely ridiculous
My wife works for one of the biggest childcare chains in the UK, they cut sick pay for Covid to statutory back in July last year. They were also responsible indirectly for pretty much everyone who works there getting Covid over the last 24 months because of sloppy practices, mostly through parents and children coming onto the site whilst infected. One employee has severe long lasting Covid effects. If this were even slightly more severe, this country and the wider world would have been totally fucked. The money making machine trumped public health and was laid bare for anyone to see.
As much as antivaxxers annoy me, workers having rights taken away is never a good thing
Too right. My work tried getting me to work on my days off because the idiots who refused to get vaxed at my work are on a perpetual loop of self isolation as they’re constantly in close contact with infected.
Ermm how do they know whether their employees are vaccinated or not. If my company asked about my medical history or status I’d tell them firmly to fucking do one.
It’s funny how people who readily call themselves “Left Wing” or even “liberal” suddenly jump on the side of big business over employee protections and worker rights on this issue. Your work place should not have the right to discriminate against you because you chose not to under go a medical procedure.
You know what is a much bigger determinant of risk from Covid? Being old or obese. Should Ikea also with hold self-isolation pay from the obese?
Among all the anti-vax circle jerk (also rejecting a vaccine does not make you an antivaxer in itself). No one realises the key point from the article
>because of close contact with someone with Covid-19
I’m going to tell you what will happen. People will not isolate due to close contacts. For all the antivax circlejerk you forget the reason people are circlewanking is because unvaccinated people are more likely to spread the virus than someone triple jabbed.
So unvaccinated people who are self isolating because of a close contact and therefore have a high likelyhood of contracting covid are forced into work rather than taking steps to mitigate the risk to others (this whole ‘selfish’ line doesnt stand up one bit when someone is isolating for the sake of others)
Brilliant. Don’t cooperate with society, and society stops cooperating with you.
My family and cousins are all double and triple vaccinated and have all tested positive in the past 2 weeks requiring them to isolate including myself.
So why do I have the right to sick pay and an unvaccinated person doesn’t?
It’s common knowledge by now that being vaccinated doesn’t stop you from spreading the disease and although it reduces the likelihood of spreading or becoming infected, being around the same people all the time at work is eventually going to cause you to infect them, especially if you can’t tell you have it because you’re asymptomatic.
Pretty sure if you worked there, didn’t have the vaccine, then you would most likely also have test and trace phone numbers blocked, not have the app, as such you would never be told you have to stay at home.
It’s such a non story,
This would stop those who are trying to skive off, that’s about it.
Anti vax staff ” it’s just a cold, I don’t need a vaccine”
Also anti vax staff ” no we should get extra pay not just what we get for any other sickness, covid is different”
Well, what one is it?!
If they pay for any other sort of sickness, I’m alright with that but if they go off sick for something unrelated and unpaid, that’s shit.
Issue is, people are taking the piss with sickies on COVID.
I have been absolutely busting my ass off because antivaxers are getting COVID and going off sick for at least a week, when working from home as well.
Literally no sympathy.
Unvaxx people is why we have to keep wearing masks because if everyone is vaxxed then covid is just as dangerous as a mild cold and we won’t have to wear masks.
Can they actually do this? It isn’t UK law to have the vaccine therefore this workers could sue
24 comments
>’ikea reverts to standard SSP rates’
Fixed the title….
complete non story IMHO.
>Furniture retailer Ikea has cut sick pay for unvaccinated UK staff who are forced to self-isolate because of close contact with someone with Covid-19, it has emerged.
>Unvaccinated workers at Ikea are only eligible for statutory sick pay of £96.35 a week during 10 days of isolation, compared with weekly pay of more than £400 before tax for an average worker on the shop floor.
they are paying the legally required amount to unvaccinated people while offering MORE than the legally required amount to fully vaccinated people.
>People in England who are fully vaccinated – with at least two doses of most of the approved vaccines – are not required to self-isolate if they have been in close contact with someone infected with Covid-19. However, unvaccinated people contacted through the government’s test-and-trace system must still self-isolate by law. Other nations of the UK have set similar rules.
it does not say what pay is offered to people who have contracted COVID and test +ve though.
Is this legal? As much as I can’t stand anti vaxers, determining pay based on someone’s medical records seems like the thin end of the wedge.
I keep trying to muster up sympathy for anti-vaxx people who have obviously been victims of grifters in the same way I try to be sympathetic towards Leave voters who got suckered by the Eton mess but bloody hell it is hard.
People seem to miss the fact that this isn’t cutting sick pay for *people who are ill* , it’s about going back to normal for people *who are not ill* but have to isolate because they have been in contact with someone who was ill *because they are unvaccinated*. Theoretically you can go it and about , constantly meet people who then test positive and keep then self isolating while being paid. If they were vaccinated they wouldn’t have to isolate.
I note that instead of saying staff are off sick the media and government are now using the phrase “staff absence”. Prepare for a “war on skivers” by the Daily Mail and similar in the coming weeks.
Being unvaccinated doesn’t make someone an anti-vaxxer.
If you catch COVID, the immunity your body develops will give better protection than the vaccine would give you.
If you’ve had COVID in the last three months, you’re not supposed to get the vaccine because it can cause an adverse reaction.
If you work in a public-facing staff role, you’ve almost certainly had COVID at some point – and most likely more than once. As a result, the chances of you having a better immune response to the virus over someone who is vaccinated is pretty high.
​
I think it’s time we stop the vaccination programs, stop the demonisation of ‘the unvaccinated’ and handle COVID the same way we handle the Flu – prioritise the vulnerable, but otherwise leave it to personal discretion. Mandated jabs for everyone would have made sense *at the very start*, but now? It’s just a waste of time for the majority of people, and a waste of money and resources for the country,
At the same time, we can then also drop anti-vaxxers from the news cycle entirely – a movement no doubt bolstered by all the attention it’s received over the last few years.
Do you want infected people going to work? cause this is how you get infected people going to work.
That will just make more people go back to work instead of self-isolating
Block the test and trace number (0300 0135 000) on your phone and this situation will never arise 👍
Why are you giving sick pay to people who aren’t sick?
The only ones who have to self-isolate because of a close contact are the unvaccinated, everyone else is free to get on with their lives.
Their choice, make them pay the consequences. Use your annual leave or GTFO.
Anti-vaxxers “my body my choice”
Ikea “our money our choice”
Instead of paying £400+ they’ll pay statutory sick pay which is basically £100 pw.
​
Edit: Also anti-vaxxers “freedom for me, not for thee, downvote”
Unacceptable.
Vaxines are just ridiculous!!!!
How are you going to Vax the world population every 6 months. Remember it’s only valid for 6 months.
Absolutely ridiculous
My wife works for one of the biggest childcare chains in the UK, they cut sick pay for Covid to statutory back in July last year. They were also responsible indirectly for pretty much everyone who works there getting Covid over the last 24 months because of sloppy practices, mostly through parents and children coming onto the site whilst infected. One employee has severe long lasting Covid effects. If this were even slightly more severe, this country and the wider world would have been totally fucked. The money making machine trumped public health and was laid bare for anyone to see.
As much as antivaxxers annoy me, workers having rights taken away is never a good thing
Too right. My work tried getting me to work on my days off because the idiots who refused to get vaxed at my work are on a perpetual loop of self isolation as they’re constantly in close contact with infected.
Ermm how do they know whether their employees are vaccinated or not. If my company asked about my medical history or status I’d tell them firmly to fucking do one.
It’s funny how people who readily call themselves “Left Wing” or even “liberal” suddenly jump on the side of big business over employee protections and worker rights on this issue. Your work place should not have the right to discriminate against you because you chose not to under go a medical procedure.
You know what is a much bigger determinant of risk from Covid? Being old or obese. Should Ikea also with hold self-isolation pay from the obese?
Among all the anti-vax circle jerk (also rejecting a vaccine does not make you an antivaxer in itself). No one realises the key point from the article
>because of close contact with someone with Covid-19
I’m going to tell you what will happen. People will not isolate due to close contacts. For all the antivax circlejerk you forget the reason people are circlewanking is because unvaccinated people are more likely to spread the virus than someone triple jabbed.
So unvaccinated people who are self isolating because of a close contact and therefore have a high likelyhood of contracting covid are forced into work rather than taking steps to mitigate the risk to others (this whole ‘selfish’ line doesnt stand up one bit when someone is isolating for the sake of others)
Brilliant. Don’t cooperate with society, and society stops cooperating with you.
My family and cousins are all double and triple vaccinated and have all tested positive in the past 2 weeks requiring them to isolate including myself.
So why do I have the right to sick pay and an unvaccinated person doesn’t?
It’s common knowledge by now that being vaccinated doesn’t stop you from spreading the disease and although it reduces the likelihood of spreading or becoming infected, being around the same people all the time at work is eventually going to cause you to infect them, especially if you can’t tell you have it because you’re asymptomatic.
Pretty sure if you worked there, didn’t have the vaccine, then you would most likely also have test and trace phone numbers blocked, not have the app, as such you would never be told you have to stay at home.
It’s such a non story,
This would stop those who are trying to skive off, that’s about it.
Anti vax staff ” it’s just a cold, I don’t need a vaccine”
Also anti vax staff ” no we should get extra pay not just what we get for any other sickness, covid is different”
Well, what one is it?!
If they pay for any other sort of sickness, I’m alright with that but if they go off sick for something unrelated and unpaid, that’s shit.
Issue is, people are taking the piss with sickies on COVID.
I have been absolutely busting my ass off because antivaxers are getting COVID and going off sick for at least a week, when working from home as well.
Literally no sympathy.
Unvaxx people is why we have to keep wearing masks because if everyone is vaxxed then covid is just as dangerous as a mild cold and we won’t have to wear masks.
Can they actually do this? It isn’t UK law to have the vaccine therefore this workers could sue