Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Give workers paid time off to get the jab, Labour urges employers
Colleen York receiving a Covid-19 vaccine at the NHS Nightingale facility at the Excel Centre, London

LABOUR called on employers to give staff paid time off to get inoculated against Covid-19 as seven vaccination centres opened across England today.

Deputy leader Angela Rayner wrote to the “big five” business groups to request that they ease the process of workers getting the jab.

The letter was sent to the Confederation of Business Industry, the British Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses, the Institute of Directors and MakeUK. 

She called on them to allow staff time to escort vulnerable relatives to appointments, support staff in signing up as NHS volunteers to help in the vaccine roll-out and using firms’ platforms to promote the vaccine and combat anti-vax misinformation.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Smoke from flares thrown by fans fills the field before the soccer derby between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv was called off Sunday after pregame disturbances led police to deem it unsafe to proceed at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025
Features / 22 October 2025
22 October 2025

The ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was based on evidence of a pattern of violence and hatred targeting Arabs and Muslims, two communities that have a large population in Birmingham — overturning the ban was tacit acceptance of the genocidal ideology the fans espouse, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE

Demonstrators hold placards during a protest in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, August 9, 2025
Round-up / 10 August 2025
10 August 2025
England's newly appointed white-ball captain, Harry Brook, ahead of a press conference at Headingley Stadium, Leeds, April 9, 2025
Men’s cricket / 19 May 2025
19 May 2025

International season starts at Trent Bridge on Thursday, where England will take on Zimbabwe