Unvaccinated T-Mobile staff will be axed in April

Companies have been handling the roll-out of vaccinations with their own unique process. This comes as the US supreme court's decision determined that President Biden's bid to require workers at large companies to be vaccinated or masked and tested weekly was too broad a measure.

This state of play has led to some companies mandating vaccine boosters, while others have rethought their position.

The latest company to take action and to enforce action on employees is T-Mobile US. The telecommunications company, which employs 75,000 staff, will be putting in place strict rules for its staff going forward.

In a global email, sent by an unidentified chief of human resources, the company outlined its plans for the future.

What will T-Mobile do?

In the email, shared by The T-Mo Report, employees were told: "As the Omicron surge peaks and subsidies across the country, we're looking ahead to what's next and how we keep our T-Mobile community - ourselves, our families, and our customers - safe."

The statement went on to highlight how data has shown that vaccinations are the most effective way to stop COVID-19 from causing illness or death. With this logic in mind, the company has asked most staff to be vaccinated by 2 April.

The email clarifies: "Employees who have not yet taken action to receive their first dose and upload proof by 21 February will be placed on unpaid leave" and "affected employees who do not become fully vaccinated...by 2 April will be separated from T-Mobile."The email clarifies: "Employees who have not yet taken action to receive their first dose and upload proof by 21 February will be placed on unpaid leave" and "affected employees who do not become fully vaccinated...by 2 April will be separated from T-Mobile."

Employees will be expected to upload their vaccination status to T-Mobile’s “Cleared4” system so that the company can get insight into the uptake and need to release employees.

Although the vast majority of staff will be impacted, retail mobile experts and field technicians will not have to adhere to this rule. Currently, it's not clear whether T-Mobile will eventually also require its frontline staff to be vaccinated.

Of course, those with reasonable exemptions will be able to continue with their roles as long as they take regular tests.

At the end of the statement, T-Mobile US went on to thank its staff for their work during an "incredibly challenging" pandemic. The company added that employees will navigate the future together and come out of the situation "stronger than ever before".

Moves to enforce mandates are becoming popular and the likes of Meta and Apple have taken steps to ensure that their workers can work more safely. Whether more companies put mandates in place remains to be seen, but it is clear that some enterprises still see vaccines as essential in the future of work.

UNLEASH has reached out to T-Mobile US for comment but has yet to receive a response.