COVID Vaccinations and your Employees

As the country prepares to reopen in the coming months, a hot topic is the legality of requiring your staff to have the Covid-19 vaccination in order to return to the workplace. At present, there is no legislation that requires persons to vaccinate specifically for the purpose of returning to the workplace. There are a few exceptions where an employer can require staff members to vaccinate but these are limited to healthcare and possibly childcare environments.

There Is however, a framework you may follow to ensure your staff are safely following the best advice as per public health guidelines. The first step in this is to open the conversation with your staff members about their intention to vaccinate. This allows the employer to assess what percentage of employees intend on getting vaccinated. For employees who are unsure or do not wish to vaccinate, consider implementing procedures ​that best support the vaccination process. 

For example:

1. Discuss the reason why there may be a reluctance to have the vaccination. By knowing and understanding the reason behind their decision, you can find a better way to support them.
   
2. Information is key (and misinformation is rampant). Share all public health guidelines and advice along with vaccine guidelines. This will allow your staff to make an educated decision based on information from reliable sources.
   
3. Accommodate the vaccine schedule. Perhaps you can offer paid time off for vaccination appointments and implement a plan for anyone who has an adverse reaction to the vaccine. This will allow employees to feel supported at this time.
   
4. If there are employees who do not take the vaccine due to religious, medical or any other reasons, you may wish to evaluate their working arrangements. A risk assessment may be carried out and there may be a benefit for such employees to continue to work remotely where possible.

The vaccination programme is in place to protect all members of society from Covid-19. Although it is the safest and recommended option, it is not a legal requirement for anyone to have this vaccine. Dismissal due to not receiving the vaccination could be deemed as unfair dismissal.

​Remember:
All AGM’s are permitted to take place virtually until 9th of June 2021