Salutem LD TopCo Limited & Salutem LD TopCo II Limited Minton Place Victoria Street Windsor SL4 1EG 07845014517 Claire.phipps@salutemsharedservices.co.uk 9th August 2021 Private & Confidential Rachel Bratcher 20 Knapp Park Road Paignton Devon TQ4 7LA Dear Rachel Outcome of Disciplinary Hearing – Summary Dismissal without Notice Further to the formal disciplinary hearing held on 3rd August 2021 I write to confirm my decision. The allegations against you were: • You have refused to follow a reasonable management instruction in that you refused to obtain a COVID vaccination further to the instruction issued to you in a letter dates 19th July 2021. A full investigation was conducted, and you attended a meeting on 19th July 2021. At the meeting you were given the opportunity to put forward any reasons, concerns, or comments on why you felt you could not or would not have one of the COVID vaccinations. Following the meeting your representations were considered • You believed that the trials do not finish until 2023 and you don’t feel that 6 months is long enough for it to be proved that there won’t be any long-term health impacts on you • You feel you are being pressured by the company to have the vaccine and that this is against the Nuremberg Code which is a legal right to any individual without punishment • You have the blood disorder, Von Willebrand’s disease and Endometriosis • You have advised us that the process is affecting your mental health and that you have been prescribed anti-anxiety medication and are currently not fit for work • You do not believe the company will pay any medical bills if you experience any side effects because of the vaccine and the government have waved all rights under the emergency law • You have several allergies Salutem LD TopCo Limited and Salutem LD TopCo II Limited | Minton Place | Victoria Street | Windsor | SL4 1EG 01753 255 777 | www.salutemcareandeducation.co.uk | enquiries@salutem.services Salutem LD TopCo Limited. Registered in England and Wales. Company number 10652314. Registered address: Minton Place, Victoria Street, Windsor SL4 1EG Salutem LD TopCo II Limited. Registered in England and Wales. Company number 11217743. Registered address: Minton Place, Victoria Street, Windsor SL4 1EG • You feel that the company is not considering your health by mandating employees to have the Covid vaccine • You believe that by mandating the vaccine, the company is breaching your human rights and the company issued you with a formal management instruction to book an appointment for the first vaccination within 7 days and then to have both vaccinations in order to continue working in your current role. You have notified the company that you have decided not to obtain any COVID vaccination. You were invited to attend a disciplinary hearing and given full opportunity to respond to the allegations, ask questions, dispute the evidence, put forward your own evidence and otherwise argue your case. You attended the disciplinary hearing and you chose to waive your statutory right to be accompanied In the disciplinary hearing you raised the following points and I have outlined the company response under each point: • You have begun a vegan diet with the aim of supporting you with managing your allergies and IBS and although you are against animal testing, you didn’t advise us why your new vegan diet prevented you from having a vaccine We shared with you the below information from PeTA and Government guidance Can Vegans Get a COVID-19 Vaccine? (peta.org.uk) Guide to the use of human and animal products in vaccines - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) • You advised that you couldn’t find a list of the vaccine ingredients and that the company should share this information with you This information is available on the Government website and has been given to you by Caroline Wallace • The OH professional has advised that there are no medical reasons that you shared that would prevent you from having a vaccine and provided advice on several adjustments that would further reduce any risk. OH also advised you to ask your haematologist to complete a risk benefit analysis but the refused to do this. You also tell us that you haven’t shared the information from OH with you own GP and that your GP has been unhelpful and refuses to get involved. You have not provided us with any medical reason for not having the vaccine • You state that it doesn’t become law to have the vaccine until November 2021 Our policy on mandating the Covid vaccine is not dependant on the upcoming changes to legislation. This policy has been shared with you previously. • You provided us with an open letter to government regarding challenges to the legislation 2 This letter is not addressed to Salutem and is concerned with the government legislation and no Salutems vaccine policy. • You presented a screenshot of a YouTube video it is not clear but you advised that this is from the World Doctors Alliance and an article by Richard Lyon I have considered both documents and do not consider them to be from a reputable source • You believe that the vaccines are experimental until 2023 This is not true and common misinformation used by conspiracy theorists and relates to the FDA a body in the United State of America. It is therefore not relevant to this situation. In the USA the Federal and Drug Administration (FDA) are responsible for authorising the use of drugs and vaccines. Each country in the world has its own authorisation process and laws that need to be complied with. In the United Kingdom the Medical and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) the use of drugs and vaccines. The MHRA has authorised the use of three vaccines in relation to the COVID19 virus, Astra Zeneca, Pfizer an Moderna. I have included two links below that explain all three authorised vaccines have completed the required three stages of testing, have been peer reviewed and it is standard practice for safety monitoring to continue after a vaccine has been approved for use. https://fullfact.org/health/covid-19-vaccines/ https://www.reuters.com/article/uk- factcheck-vaccine-monitoring-idUSKBN2AC2G3 I have included two further links below from the Parliamentary office of Science and Technology (POST) that explain the testing process and how regulatory approval is gained for vaccines: https://post.parliament.uk/the-performance-of-covid-19-vaccines-in-clinical- trialsand-in-real-world-conditions/ https://post.parliament.uk/regulatory- approval-of-covid-19-vaccines-in-the-uk/ • The yellow card system • The Yellow Card scheme does not necessarily mean a reaction was caused by the vaccine, only that the reporter has a suspicion it may have. Underlying or previously undiagnosed illness unrelated to vaccine can also be factors in such report. The relative number and nature of report should therefore not be used to compare the safety of the different 3 vaccines. All reports are kept under continual review in order to identify new risks.” The MRHA has authorised the use of all three COVID vaccines in the wider public and that they are safe. The company relies on the government and MHRA guidance, regulation, and advice. • You are concerned about the use of Bio-Technology The coronavirus vaccines have all been authorised as safe for public use by the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulation Authority. (MHRA). The company relies on government and MHRA statistics in relation to these points. I have provided a link to the NHS guidance on the safety of the coronavirus vaccines; https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus- vaccination/safety-andside-effects/ • You feel pressured into having the vaccine at that you are being required to choose between your job and the vaccine The company fully agrees that employees are entitled to consent or not to medical procedures, including vaccinations. The company provides services to extremely vulnerable and often very sick individuals. The company must carefully balance and weigh up the risk to employees and the risk to the population that it serves. While an employee can absolutely refuse to consent to the vaccine there may be consequences because of that refusal that are necessary and appropriate to take to protect individuals who are unable to protect themselves. The company will take very careful consideration when weighing up these issues. • You feel that by mandating the vaccine, the company is violating your human rights The Equality and Human Rights Commission has provided a report to the Government supporting the mandatory vaccination of care workers and those in close contact with vulnerable people. Specifically, the report concludes that the right to life of vulnerable people should be prioritised. • You feel that refusing a reasonable management instruction is not gross misconduct The company disagree and feel that refusing to follow a reasonable management instruction does constitute gross misconduct. The company has a duty of care to protect to protect both the individuals we support and our colleagues to unnecessary risk of exposure of COVID. There is a very strong correlation to the vaccination programme and a reduction in positive cases. Therefore the company believe that the vaccine will benefit both those it cares for and it’s employees. 4 In the setting where you are employed to work support individuals in our care, some of the individuals in the setting where you work have medical conditions that means they are clinically vulnerable and at risk of developing severe complications or even death if they contract Coronavirus. It is therefore very important that the company and the individuals working with those individuals take all steps necessary to protect them. • The process has taken too long and caused you mental health issues and financial problems that the company has not supported you with. These are unprecedented circumstances and we want to be sure that we are giving our colleagues every opportunity and a reasonable length of time to research and make this very important decision. We appreciate the impact management processes can have on people and it is important that the process is resolved to remove that anxiety from you. As previously advised, you can talk to our employee assistance providers free and in confidence on 0800 0305182 or access our Employee Well Being toolkit available on BLINK. We have also provided the link below for additional support Every Mind Matters - NHS (www.nhs.uk) I can confirm that you have received sick pay in line with company policy. • You advise that your personal insurance won’t cover you if you have an adverse reaction to the vaccine and you want a letter from the company to say that they will pay. You can take legal action against the vaccine company, in the very rare event that you have an adverse reaction to the vaccine, but the Government has provided an indemnity to the vaccine companies which means that the Government will pay any financial awards. The Government indemnity does not affect your legal rights at all. The company have no liability in this case. • You have Church of England religious beliefs You have not discussed why these beliefs prevent you from having a Covid vaccine The reason the company believe that the instruction for employees to obtain full COVID vaccination is a reasonable one is as follows: The company has a duty of care to protect to protect both the individuals we support and our colleagues to unnecessary risk of exposure of COVID. There is a very strong 5 correlation to the vaccination programme and a reduction in positive cases. Therefore, the company believe that the vaccine will benefit both those it cares for and its employees. In the setting where you are employed to work, some of the individuals we support have medical conditions that means they are clinically vulnerable and at risk of developing severe complications or even death if they contract Coronavirus. It is therefore very important that the company and the individuals working with those individuals take all steps necessary to protect them Having listened to all the evidence, I have concluded that I believe you are guilty of the allegation against you. I have therefore found you guilty of gross misconduct allegations. In accordance with the Disciplinary Policy any gross misconduct offences will usually result in summary dismissal (dismissal without notice or pay in lieu of notice). In reaching my decision on whether to summarily dismiss in the circumstances I have considered any mitigating information available. I considered your length of service and clead disciplinary record but decided that this was insufficient mitigation to support a lesser sanction than summary dismissal. I have also considered whether in all the circumstances an alternative disciplinary sanction would be appropriate I have specifically considered re-deployment but there are no settings within the company that do not require vaccination and taking all the circumstances into account I have decided to summarily dismiss. Your employment will therefore terminate without notice on Monday 9th August 2021. The following arrangements apply with immediate effect (but may be varied or revoked in the event of a successful appeal): (a) You will be paid in the usual way up to termination of your employment on Monday 9th August 2021, such payments to be subject to the normal deductions of tax and National Insurance contributions. (b) Your holiday entitlement for this year, will be calculated pro rata up to your final day of employment, any outstanding holiday will be paid to you, if you have taken more holiday than accrued, this will be deducted from your final pay. If we are asked to give a reference for you such reference will disclose that you were summarily dismissed on the grounds of gross misconduct following a disciplinary hearing. You have the right to appeal if you are not satisfied with my decision. If you wish to exercise this right you should do so in writing within 5 days from the date of this letter, stating the reasons for your appeal to Ann Holt, C/O Minton Place Victoria Street Windsor SL4 1EG If you do appeal, the Company will then invite you to attend an appeal hearing and you must take all reasonable steps to attend. Yours sincerely Claire Phipps Divisional HR Manager 6
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