27 January 2022
No one likes a policy for the sake of having a policy. However, some policies are needed to protect both the Employer and Employee.
During the last two years there have been many significant changes in the workplace. Who would have thought that working from home would be considered the new norm ? There have been Government obligations that enforced changing working conditions. There have been shut downs and supply chain issues. But irrespective of all that, what we have seen as a common theme is that Employee flexibility and safety is paramount in any decision making model.
In the last 6 months, businesses have been grappling to manage the COVID Vaccine in the workplace. Considerations as to whether or not we mandate the vaccine; do we encourage Employees to have the vaccine or do we simply stay silent on the topic?
In some industries the vaccine has been automatically mandated by the Government. In other it is encouraged and then there are those where no stance is expressed. For the businesses that fall into the category of no recommendations this can be challenging. Especially when you look at the community standpoint whereas a society, we are encouraged to get it.
With that in mind, the best practice out there is to effectively implement a COVID Vaccination Policy into businesses.
This policy can be tailored to the needs of the business and help minimize risk within the workplace. Also introducing the policy now means that any subsequent changes moving forward, the business is already on top of its obligations. It is a line in the sand and allows the business an effective way to manage the health and safety of the whole team.
Like a lot of the work HR does, being proactive and developing a policy that is suitable for your business, not only helps manage the situation, but reduces future difficult conversations and implements best practice moving forward.
A COVID 19 Vaccination policy is not something you should download from the internet. There are several and quite specific pieces of legislation that must be included. The fines associated with breaching some of this legislation could financially hurt businesses for not knowing what they do not know.
If you do not have a COVID Vaccination Policy in place yet, contact Now Actually to create a tailored policy according to your industry and business requirements.
