What is New Zealand’s workplace immunisation policy?

COVID-19 made its way around the world from 2019 to 2022, causing workplace policies and requirements to change rapidly and drastically. In order to protect people from becoming sick in high numbers, vaccines were recommended and in some cases mandated. This allowed people to get back to work with diminished risk of falling ill. 

While things have changed a lot this year, any business that wants to hire staff in New Zealand needs to have an idea of the latest immunisation policies or work with a PEO that understands the requirements. 

Here is some information about vaccines for businesses planning to hire in New Zealand: 

 

What are the laws around vaccination in the workplace in New Zealand?

As of mid-2022, 2021, 80.7% of eligible New Zealanders have been fully vaccinated against COVID. That means that if you are looking to hire in New Zealand, you have high odds of applicants already being fully vaccinated. 

At the time of writing, there is no blanket government requirement stating that anyone must be fully vaccinated in order to hold a job. The decision is down to the discretion of the individual employers, with the exception of certain industries. 

Current Government vaccination mandates are in force for:

– Health and disability sector workers (which includes aged care workers)

– Prison staff

– Border and MIQ workers 

 

Government vaccination mandates are no longer in force for:

– New Zealand Police workers (sworn members, recruits and authorised officers) unless working in an environment where a mandate is required

– New Zealand Defense Force workers (Armed Forces and civilian staff) unless working in an environment where a mandate is required 

– Early childhood and schooling education workers

– Workers at food and drink services, events, close proximity services and indoor exercise facilities like gyms 

– Work at tertiary education premises (which only applied at the Red level of the COVID-19 Protection Framework).

As shared by Employment New Zealand, “If a business or workplace isn’t covered by a government vaccination mandate, an employer can determine what controls can be supported by a work health and safety risk assessment or in relation to third party access requirements. This may include requiring work be done only by vaccinated workers.” 

In other words, you may decide to implement policies of your own. The NZ Government recommends that you engage with workers and their representatives in good faith when it comes to the development, implementation and review of vaccination requirements. 

 

Can you force an employee to be vaccinated?

Outside of certain professions, no.

COVID infection rates are constantly changing and, for now at least, it is generally accepted that the risk to public health is far less than it was, even a year ago. 

If you believe a vaccination policy is still necessary when you hire people in New Zealand, you should complete a work health and safety risk assessment, and take into account updated public health information when doing so. This will help you figure out what controls are necessary and appropriate in your workplace. 

You may decide being fully vaccinated is necessary if, for example, people are performing work indoors in close proximity to others for long periods, or the people who may potentially be exposed to COVID are at high risk of serious health consequences. There may also be a scenario where workers are entering environments as part of their work, which requires them to be vaccinated. In this case, you will have to form a policy around this. 

As shared on the Employment New Zealand website, “Employers, employees and their representatives should communicate early and openly about workplace vaccination requirements. The duty of good faith in employment relationships applies to employees. Consultation requirements under the Health and Safety at Work Act also apply to conversations with all workers, not just employees.”

It is very unlikely that your business will have the power to stand down an employee who is not vaccinated if they work in an industry where vaccines are not mandated. However, it depends 

 

Why you need a workplace immunisation policy when you’re building your team

If you have the luxury of building a new team, you can avoid many of the complications around vaccinations. If you believe there is a valid reason to require staff to be vaccinated and include a workplace immunisation policy right from the beginning, your new employees will know where your business stands from day one. 

 

Want to know more about building a team in New Zealand and implementing a workplace immunisation policy that is compliant with local legislation? Contact ANZPEO today.