COVID-19 Update - Alert Level Changes & Vaccines and Employment
Alert Level Changes
As of 11:59pm on Tuesday 9 November 2021, Auckland will move into Alert Level 3 step 2.
The Auckland borders will remain in place, however:
Retail businesses can re-open to the public, provided that customers and employees wear masks and maintain social distancing.
Public facilities such as libraries and museums can reopen.
Outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people from multiple bubbles can go ahead.
cafes and restaurants will continue to be takeaway only. Food courts in malls can open, but food can’t be eaten in the mall
Outside of Auckland, the far north of Northland will move to level 2 to align with the rest of the Country except Waikato which remains at Alert Level 3 step 2.
Vaccinations and Employment
It is disappointing that at the time of writing, there is limited information available about vaccinations in the workplace, vaccine certificates, no vaccination no entry policies and the like.
The information that has been released, including the comments made at the daily 1pm press conferences, constantly changes and often conflicts with earlier advice we have been given.
We are keeping up to date on the latest, and when we have more concrete information, we will of course let you know.
Until then, what we do know is set out below.
If you have a specific query relating to vaccinations in your workplace, please let us know.
Vaccine Certificates
Little information has been released about vaccination certificates and how this system will work when close contact businesses such as hairdressers and hospitality can reopen under the traffic light system.
What we do know is that businesses which are considered to be ‘high risk’ will be required to use the vaccine certificate system, and while the system will be optional for some other businesses, it will not be available for every business.
The list of businesses which will fall into the high risk category or who will be eligible to choose to use the vaccination certificate system has not yet been released.
Healthcare and Education
Under the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021, employees in Healthcare and Education have until 15 November to receive their first vaccine and must be fully vaccinated by 1 January 2022.
Where an employee who works within one of the above sectors refuses to be vaccinated, or does not meet the date on which they are required to be vaccinated (first and/or second dose), employers will be required explore redeployment options before dismissal.
Employment law still applies and due process will be required if considering termination of employment.
If this situation applies to anyone in your workplace, contact us for assistance.
Businesses not covered by the Health Order
Outside of roles covered by the Health Order, there are limited circumstances in which an employer can require an employee to be vaccinated in order to undertake their job.
We do know that in order to meet the threshold to require that work is undertaken by a vaccinated employee, a health and safety risk assessment would need to prove that:
the work undertaken, or the work environment in general, would place an employee at a higher risk of contracting or transmitting COVID-19; and
Safety and hygiene measures (PPE usage, hand washing, social distancing, staying home when unwell etc.) would not be sufficient to minimise the risk of COVID-19 being transmitted within the workplace
WorkSafe have released guidelines to assist employers to assess whether or not mandatory vaccinations may be warranted in certain roles. This can be found here.
It has also been confirmed that a uniform risk assessment process will be released under public health legislation later this year.
Where the threshold for compulsory vaccination is not met, there are other avenues available to address health and safety risks including additional PPE requirements and regular testing practices.
No vaccination, no entry policies
A hot topic in the media at the moment, we are starting to see more and more employers implementing no vaccination no entry policies. This means any employee (or customer / client) who is not vaccinated will not be permitted to enter the workplace.
While these policies can be implemented in some workplaces with caution, there are a number of factors to consider before deciding if a policy of this nature will work for you.
Staff who are not vaccinated, and therefore not eligible to be on site under such policy must be provided a with a reasonable alternative to working on site. Examples of this would include allowing staff who are not vaccinated to continue to work from home, offering staff alternative hours or duties which would allow them to be onsite while others aren’t, or even working on site while wearing additional PPE.
This arrangement may not be workable for every job or every workplace and any change to a term of the employees employment (such as duties, place of work or hours of work) as a result of the policy must be done through a process of consultation.
If you would like to discuss vaccinations in your workplace further, or if you need assistance with policy implementation, please do get in touch with us on (09) 377 9891 or by email to knowhow@knowhow.co.nz is the best method as the phones are running hot.
We will be in touch when more information is available.
Kind regards
Emma Lucas
Associate
Knowhow Limited
Information contained herein does not constitute a definitive or complete statement of law. "What's New" is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information on employment matters. "What's New" is not rendering legal, accounting or other expert advice. Because employment related matters must be dealt with on a case by case basis the information provided herein is not intended to supplant professional legal and other expert advice being sought in regard to a specific problem.
KNOWHOW LIMITED
SUITE 5 LEVEL 1 HEARDS BUILDING
168 PARNELL ROAD PARNELL
PO BOX 37631 PARNELL AUCKLAND 1151
T. 09 377 9891
E. KNOWHOW@KNOWHOW.CO.NZ