UK 
United States
US tech giant Google is one of the latest firms who has reportedly told workers that they will need to be vaccinated before returning to the office – the BBC reports.
The policy is said to begin at its US campuses within weeks, and then be rolled out around the world for its 144,000-strong workforce.
‘Need to be vaccinated’
Writing in a recent blog post, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet – the parent company of Google – said that “anyone coming to work on our campuses will need to be vaccinated”.
In terms of how the policy is implemented, the blog post went on to state that it "will vary according to local conditions and regulations, and will not apply until vaccines are widely available in your area”.
He added: "You’ll get guidance from your local leads about how this will affect you, and we’ll also share more details on an exceptions process for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other protected reasons."
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It has also been reported that Google will extend the full reopening of its global campuses from September 1 to October 18.
This is said to be due to a spike in the number of cases caused by the ‘Delta’ variant of coronavirus.
Despite this, the BBC reported that any Google staff can apply to work from home permanently if they choose to do so.
HR Grapevine has contacted Google for further comment regarding this policy.
Netflix & Facebook
This news comes as many organisations weigh up their approach regarding vaccinations and returning to work in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
And it seems that Google is not the only employer to specify that workers coming into a physical working environment need to be vaccinated.
In fact, the streaming giant Netflix announced on Wednesday that it would be requiring proof of coronavirus vaccination for all working employees working close to actors on sets in the US, according to the Daily Mail.
The ruling is said to apply to all working in ‘Zone A’ which means the actors and those who come into close proximity to them, Deadline reported.
Separately, tech giant Facebook has also said that it will require employees in the US to be vaccinated before returning to the office in October.
Writing in a statement on Wednesday afternoon, as was reported by the Daily Mail, Lori Goler, Facebook’s Vice President of People, said: “How we implement this policy will depend on local conditions and regulations.
“We will have a process for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other reasons and will be evaluating our approach in other regions as the situation evolves.”
UK firms & vaccination requirements
While these examples are currently specific to staff in the US, some firms have also taken a similar stance with staff in the UK.
In fact, earlier this year, the BBC reported that publisher Bloomsbury said vaccines would be compulsory for UK staff returning to its offices when they reopened.
Bloomsbury told The Bookseller magazine – who first reported the story – that it had taken both “medical and scientific advice”.
The publisher added: "The simple fact is that this virus is still extremely dangerous."
In addition to this, Pimlico Plumbers said it would require compulsory vaccination for staff. The company had already said it wouldn’t hire anyone new who was not vaccinated.
