EU Plans Will Hasten UK COVID Passport Says Yorkshire Tech Boss

Plans announced this week, to roll out vaccine certificates across the European Union’s 27 countries is further evidence that a Covid passport is inevitable in the UK.

So says the managing director of a Sheffield tech firm which has just launched a Covid tier to its Health and Safety software used by thousands of contractors across the country.

“Organisations across the globe are going to want to know that people have been vaccinated and are safe to allow on their premises, whether those premises be restaurants, theatres, hospitals or building sites,” said Gary Duce, who runs Reset Compliance Systems.

“It’s common sense that businesses and public bodies will want to do what they can to keep people
safe and control the spread of the virus.

“In the UK, health and safety legislation means that those responsible for managing public and private buildings have a duty of care to those using them.

“That’s why a Covid passport, or whatever name you want to give to it, is inevitable. If organisations don’t embrace the idea of the passport, it could be questionable whether they are fulfilling that duty of care,” he said.

Reset’s software is used by tens of thousands of contractors at more than 300 sites across the country, ranging from NHS hospitals to schools and from building sites to airports.

Its contractor management system speeds up the process for Estates and Facilities Managers faced with deciding whether or not to allow external contractors onto a site.

The company has just updated its software to allow a person’s Covid 19 vaccination status to be added, giving an organisation the power to decide whether to allow that person to proceed to work on its premises.

Proof of vaccination has been criticised by some human rights groups who fear it will discriminate against those who have not had, cannot have, or do not want, the vaccine.

The UK Government is currently assessing the merits of a Covid passport. Meanwhile, the European Commission has set out plans for a digital green certificate, effectively, a vaccine passport.

The certificate is designed to show whether someone has had Coronavirus, been vaccinated or had a test. The certificate is designed to help kick-start tourism inside the EU.

Mr Duce says the move makes absolute sense and predicts the British government will follow suit.

“It’s almost as though the government is holding back because they fear being accused of breaching civil liberties. But this is simply about knowing the person you’re working with, or stood next to, is as safe as possible.

“The feedback we’re getting is that contractors are already being asked if their staff have been vaccinated and that most organisations only want staff on their sites who have had the jab.

"As the vaccination programme is rolled out to all working age people, the Covid tier of our software will become a vital piece of information for those managing risk and safety on their sites,” he said.