Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins has doubled down on plans to force new starters to have a coronavirus vaccine, saying “people would crawl across the snow naked” for a jab.
Mr Mullins, 68, said on Wednesday that lawyers have already approved his plans for new employees.
“More and more businesses are saying the same things,” he told Channel 4 News.
“We’ve already had the contracts drawn up, lawyers are very happy with them. They say it’s legal under health and safety laws and we have an obligation to protect our staff and our customers.”
It comes as concerns were raised about whether such requirements could lead to discrimination against people who are unable to, or choose not to receive, a vaccine.
But Mr Mullins told BBC’s Radio 4: “We've obviously been talking to our lawyers and they're very happy that we can add this proposal to any new workers that start with us once the vaccine is rolled out.
“We are in regular contract with our staff from our HR department and I think people would crawl across the snow naked to get a vaccine at the moment.
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“When people come along for a job with us if they're not happy to sign that then that's their choice but they certainly won't be given a job with Pimlico Plumbers.”
He added that the company will be using the new contracts from two to three months from now.
Earlier this week, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi told BBC News it was “up to businesses what they do” when it comes to making the jab a requirement.
Boris Johnson has suggested he wants to focus on mass vaccination and rapid testing rather than making it a mandatory requirement for people to have a Covid-19 jab in order to access jobs and services.
Mr Mullins, dubbed Britain’s “first millionaire plumber”, has been a vocal critic of the coronavirus lockdowns in the past, accusing the Prime Minister of "selling business down the river".
In January he described his company’s policy in stark terms in an interview with City AM: “No vaccine, no job.”
“When we go off to Africa and Caribbean countries, we have to have a jab for malaria – we don’t think about it, we just do it,” he said (in error; there is no vaccine for malaria, which is treated with tablets).
“So why would we accept something within our country that’s going to kill us when we can have a vaccine to stop it?"
