Though voluntary, yet vaccinated status may soon decide one’s annual increments, perks & salary

July 2: We are in the midst of a global pandemic with COVID-19 and there is a race among the nations to vaccinate its populace. Companies are increasingly nudging employees to get vaccinated so that they can reopen offices and resume normal operations in the next three-four months. While as per law, vaccination has to be voluntary and forced vaccination is against fundamental rights as recently held by the courts, but what about the fundamental rights of those who too have the liberty of ‘right to life’? Those who are already vaccinated may very well raise a basic question- “By deciding not to take the jab, are they not causing harm to others?”

According to John Stuart Mill, the sole ground for the use of state coercion (and restriction of liberty) is when one individual risks harming others. The most prominent arguments from bioethicists appeal to preventing harm to others. Probably never before has a vaccine been developed so rapidly and the pressure to use it so great, at least at the global level. COVID-19 vaccine may be effective in reducing community spread and/or preventing disease in individuals.

Many companies have set clear deadlines to get the entire workforce vaccinated, even as they continue to say vaccination is voluntary. Employment lawyers and industry executives expressed the apprehension that annual increments, incentives and commissions may soon depend on the vaccination status of the employees as a number of companies are planning to link these payouts to the employee’s Covid-19 jabs. Companies may take the calculated risk of affirmative administrative action against those who do not take the shot as they are putting a greater work population at the risk of contracting the virus.

Not only the private companies, but even some state government have asked its employees to get vaccinated or else their salary bills will not be released. In an order issued by the Chief Secretary of Assam on 23 June, 2021, it was stated that all state government department heads to ascertain the vaccination status for each and every frontline worker working for the government before releasing the monthly salary from the current month (June) onwards.

Especially in sectors such as services, manufacturing and various other client or customer facing roles, if one is not vaccinated the person could be moved to a different role which may lead to missing out on commission, bonus and other incentives. Economic Times mentioned in a report citing employment lawyers some companies are even thinking of mandating that unvaccinated employees produce a negative RTPCR test report every week at their own cost if they are required to carry out work on the office premises or shop floor.

It is important to recognise that vaccines have benefits both to the individual and to others (the community). If the vaccine has an overall net expected utility for the individual, beneficence supports its administration.