This is one of the leading questions that many business owners have been asking themselves and us since 2020. The good news is there are guidelines and laws in place that lay out a path of protection for you and your employees.
We’ve split this topic into two articles; the first of which is this introduction to Covid-19 vaccines and the workplace. The next article discusses:
- what to do when your employee or prospective employee is not vaccinated but needs to be to perform their work;
- what happens if your customer or anyone wants to know an employee’s vaccination status;
- what to do if staff don’t want to work with unvaccinated colleagues.
These can be uncomfortable discussions, which is one reason why engaging leading Hawke’s Bay lawyers is a good call.
Covid-19 vaccines are dominating our news feeds
The government is encouraging New Zealanders to get vaccinated because they see this as the key to returning us to normal, everyday life. However, the topic of vaccines, especially mandatory ones, doesn’t sit well with some people. So, let’s answer some of the more pressing questions around this topic.
Do I need to consider my employee’s vaccination status?
Yes, but for now, only at a high level. The goal is for everyone to do their job as safely as possible without creating any liability issues. So focus on the work you need to do to maintain productivity initially, then expand your focus to review all work performed within your organisation over time.
Okay but are vaccinations mandatory in the workplace?
For some workplaces, yes. The COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021 requires mandatory vaccinations for those who primarily work in border-related jobs, such as managed quarantine facilities, isolation units, affected airports, aircraft and related locations.
What happens if vaccinations are not mandatory?
Even during a pandemic, employment and health and safety laws are not suspended.
Under section 30 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 you remain obliged to:
- eliminate risks to workers’ wellbeing, so far as reasonably practicable; and
- if it isn’t possible to eliminate all risks, minimise them.
To help protect your staff, workplace and yourself from Covid-19 risks, you should carry out a health and safety assessment. This includes not only considering a vaccination policy but also other precautions such as masks, remote working or physical distancing that could help prevent transmission of the virus among your employees, customers and beyond.
WorkSafe has created tools to see if your company needs vaccinated workers. However, it’s important that a proper review of this process is completed before use to ensure the best outcome possible.
As circumstances change and employees respond, you’ll need to reassess risk regularly. For instance, what would be considered reasonable when there are no Covid-19 cases in the community would very likely be insufficient if 800 people contract Covid-19 within the community.
If the work needs a vaccinated worker, can I just ask my employees if they’re vaccinated?
This is slightly trickier to answer. Whilst you will need to consider the employee(s) doing the work, you do not have the right to know their vaccination status. That’s because an individual’s vaccination status is personal, protected information, as set out in the Privacy Act 2020. This is not overridden by the pandemic rules.
If your health and safety assessment concludes that your employees must be vaccinated to perform their work, then that is a good reason to ask them about their vaccination status. You should make it clear why you are asking, and to let them know what the information will be used for. Nevertheless, your employees don’t have to tell you their vaccination status. In our next article, we discuss what to do if an employee refuses to say whether they are vaccinated.
How do I get abreast of the Privacy Act issues?
Privacy law changed significantly at the end of 2020 Those changes include that you must:
- appoint a privacy officer within your organisation
- notify the Privacy Commissioner of serious privacy breaches as soon as possible
- and more…
The Privacy Commissioner has free online training courses, tools and blog posts that provide good Covid-19 information relating to privacy.
The best way to cover your bases and protect yourself is to talk to an employment lawyer in NZ. Our Employment Law team has a lot of experience in these matters and are here to help.
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