NHS bosses will start firing unvaccinated staff in two weeks’ time, new guidance has shown.
All frontline health workers must be double-jabbed by April 1, which means they must have had the first vaccine dose by February 3.
Figures show 6% of the NHS workforce – more than 80,000 people – still have not been vaccinated.
The Royal College of Nursing and Royal College of Midwives have called for the compulsory vaccine rules to be delayed.
They warned of a “catastrophic” impact on the delivery of services.
The new guidance says all unvaccinated frontline NHS workers should start being called into formal meetings from February 4 and warned they could face dismissal.
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Dismissal notices will start being issued from that date – with the notice period ending on March 31.
The mandatory jab rule covers roles including doctors and nurses, ward clerks, porters, and receptionists.
Under the guidance, frontline staff who won’t get vaccinated can be moved into positions not involving direct patient contact.
But it adds employers don’t have to be concerned with finding “suitable alternative employment”.
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Redundancy payments will not be made to those who are dismissed, it says.
Meanwhile, separate guidance for GPs says different entrances and exits for unjabbed workers could be created to avoid them crossing paths with patients.
It comes as health officials say the latest Omicron variant is milder than previous variants of the virus, specifically the Delta strain which caused chaos last year.
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