NZCB InHouse magazine December 2021/January 2022

Page 27

IN THE KNOW —

Vaccination issues in employment Every day at the moment, we are dealing with vaccination issues and queries relating to employment. In most employment situations this is a tricky area of the law with no real legal or case law guidance. The whole issue creates a largely unresolved clash between laws concerning privacy, the right to refuse medical treatment, health and safety, human rights/non-discrimination, and general employment law. Unless the Government legislates to make some of these issues legally clear, they will likely end up being resolved by Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court, and higher Court decisions which could take months or years to come through the system. In the limited areas where the Government has legislated for mandatory vaccination of certain workers, the legal Order mandating vaccination requires careful interpretation and analysis and is not always 100% clear. Currently, the Government has legislated for mandatory vaccination for MIQ workers and some border, airport and port workers. On 11 October 2021, it announced mandatory vaccination for workers in the health and education workforces, and on 22 October, it published the amendment Order to clarify the details and create the legal mandate. This amendment came into effect on 25 October 2021.

The legal Order mandating vaccination requires careful interpretation and analysis and is not always 100% clear. The Government has announced that it will be developing more legal guidance on vaccination certificates (apparently to be released in the coming weeks). Hopefully this will provide some more clarity for employers, in particular whether it will be lawful to mandate vaccination for workers through the requirement of vaccination certificates or through some other legal mechanism.

Pending hopefully more legal clarity, we recommend that employers do not make any rash decisions, where possible take a ‘wait and see’ approach, and seek legal advice before taking any actions. This of course excludes employers in the education and health sectors, many of whom we are currently helping to assess and comply with the pending vaccination legal mandate. Below is a link to the Employment New Zealand Government website information on vaccination in employment. This is not legal advice but does provide some general guidance: www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/ other-types-of-leave/coronavirus-workplace/ covid-19-vaccination-and-employment/

What remains critical, is for employers to fully engage in consultation with their employees regarding any health and safety risk assessments for mandatory vaccination for positions within a workplace, and to try and reach agreement with them (if at all possible) as to how the employers intend to manage vaccination issues.

Danny Jacobson and Trudy Marshall are Partners at Employment Lawyers Tauranga and they specialise exclusively in employment law. They operate our Employment Helpline for NZCB members: phone 07 928 0529 for 10 minutes free advice on any employment related issue. (The above is by its nature general, and is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice.)

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IN THE MEDIA

6min
page 70

Message from the AST Trust

2min
page 67

Eliminate moisture problems with INTELLO® from pro clima

2min
pages 64-65

Ceiling diaphragm common questions

3min
pages 62-63

Auckland makes the most of lockdown

3min
page 60

The NZCB Group Health Plan through nib

2min
pages 56-57

Tasks to tick off for new contractors

2min
page 58

Responsible hosting for staff functions

3min
pages 54-55

Resetting the baseline – recovering from burnout

1min
page 53

Hidden hazard for outdoor workers

3min
page 52

Change your thoughts and you change your world

3min
pages 50-51

Red QS’s top five tips on pricing a renovation

3min
page 43

Workforce continues to grow despite COVID-19

3min
page 42

How standard-form building contracts deal with COVID-19

6min
pages 46-47

Spotlight on research

5min
pages 48-49

The effects of moisture in timber

3min
pages 40-41

Celebrating women in construction

11min
pages 36-39

New Code of Ethics for Licensed Building Practitioners

2min
pages 34-35

Completion Certificates and Waiver of Subrogation

4min
pages 12-13

Tax on Christmas parties and presents

1min
pages 32-33

Selling for non-salespeople

3min
pages 28-29

Motivation: get your team (and customers) on board

3min
page 30

Building a greener future for all

3min
page 31

Vaccination issues in employment

2min
page 27

REVERE Volume 6

4min
page 26

Staff changes at the National Support Office

2min
pages 24-25

COVID-19 communications

1min
page 21

Board Bites

2min
page 6

Message from the NZCB Board

3min
pages 4-5

Putting our partners in the spotlight

2min
page 20

NZCB holiday closure

1min
page 7

Message from the Chief Executive

3min
pages 8-9

Why you should review your insurance programme

4min
pages 18-19

NZCB electronic membership ID cards

1min
page 11
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