US law firm Morrison Foerster will require employees to be fully vaccinated against Coronavirus in order to return to its London office, according to a report in industry publication Legal Cheek.
Personnel Today reports that the firm will require lawyers and trainees to work from the London office at least one day per week from 13 September, increasing to at least two days a week from 18 October.
Few UK private sector employers so far require employees to be vaccinated but a number of US firms have mandated that staff are double-jabbed, including law firms such as Clifford Chance and Norton Rose Fulbright.
From October, anyone working in a care home registered with the Care Quality Commission will need to have had two COVID-19 vaccinations, unless they are exempt.
A Financial News survey of City professionals taken in August found that 43% think their employer should require proof of full vaccination, while 46% felt organisations should not make it mandatory to be fully vaccinated.
A spokesperson for the firm said it was consulting with an epidemiologist on its office return but did not confirm whether proof of vaccination would be mandatory.
“The health and safety of our people remains the firm’s top priority,” they said. “We are continuing to take advice from the firm’s consultant epidemiologist as we get closer to our London reopening date, which is set for Monday 13 September,” the spokesperson added.
Personnel Today September 2021