§ Mr. CHARLES DUNCANasked the Secretary of State for War whether vaccination is still insisted upon for men who obtain employment in the Ordnance factories; whether any man who is disabled in consequence of vaccination receives sick pay; if sick pay is not now granted, when did any new regulation to that effect come into operation; and what was the reason for departing from the former custom?
§ Colonel SEELYVaccination is still insisted on for men who obtain employment in the Ordnance factories, subject to the discretion of the medical officer. A man who is disabled in consequence of vaccination does not receive sick pay if he undergoes the vaccination as a condition of being taken on. Owing to a misunderstanding of an earlier ruling, it was found in 1908 that a practice of giving pay to men vaccinated on entry was growing up, and the ruling against it was therefore made clear. It was not considered that men who underwent vaccination in order to qualify themselves for employment should do so at the expense of the public. I am considering whether any relaxation of the rule as regards sick pay is possible.