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It’s not that long ago when we were confronted with the conundrum of how to manage COVID-19 vaccinations at work. At the time we did our best to deal with challenging scenarios, differing views, the impact on working relationships and team culture.

We had difficult conversations with people who had to change their roles and others who lost jobs. Now we’ve come full circle. As the COVID-19 landscape changes, employment vaccination policies are once again under scrutiny.

While each situation will need to be managed carefully to reflect the unique individual, role and circumstances, here are some general pointers to consider.

• Avoid creating a perception that management are dealing with this behind closed doors. This could create a climate of mistrust and further exacerbate matters.
• Don’t make hasty decisions. There may be unintended consequences that damage your reputation and create animosity.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Consult and communicate with your team about potential changes. Genuinely consider and respond to feedback. Some may have concerns about their own health or how clients may feel about changes. Others may believe that relationships were irreparably damaged and that resurrecting the subject will be destructive.
2. Undertake another risk assessment. WorkSafe guidance indicates that a mandatory vaccination policy could be justified ‘where the nature of the work itself raises the risk of COVID-19 infection and transmission above the risk faced outside work’. Engage an expert who can support you through this process.
3. Ensure you have a reasonable COVID19 policy in place, covering health and safety protocols e.g. hygiene measures, testing, sickness absence management. You could still encourage vaccination as one potential safeguard.
4. If you change your organisation’s vaccination stance, establish how you want to manage vacancies for those who lost their jobs and could, in theory, come back on board. Do you want people to find out directly from you, or through the grapevine? Both approaches have pros and cons.
5. Put in place a fair transparent selection process with clear criteria e.g. tenure, if you have more interest than roles available. You may need to make unpopular decisions so open communication with the team will be key, even if their desired outcome is not the result.
6. Be certain about the uncertainty. None of us know what twists and turns the pandemic may take and it would be prudent to talk about potential future vaccination policies should the situation change.

In short, take your time to reflect on the situation, different viewpoints, potential implications and consider the needs of all your key stakeholders. Use the opportunity to re-establish trust and build a positive, consultative culture. Together, you will find the right approach.

As the year-end approaches, we traditionally move into setting in motion our planning for the Christmas party, whatever guise that may take. We involve our employees, set a date, find a venue, let them know what we’ll be doing and then let our hair down a little and have some fun. Even last year, despite the challenges, we were able to do this. Not so this year.

If your intention is to thank your team for all their hard work and the difficulties they have endured this year, and to recognise their contributions by valuing their efforts, then it becomes a no brainer.

You have to somehow create a Christmas party plan that is workable and will reward your employees.

If you decide that you are going to hold a party this year, then time is tight and you’ll need to get organised quickly.

The introduction of the traffic light system, likely in early December, still provides huge challenges for employers to organise a social gathering.

Considerations

These include:

• How many people there are in your organisation
• The nature of your business
• Are they geographically separated into smaller units, like branches?
• Are there a number of natural work groups in your organisation?
• The difficulties of inviting partners and/or children to any function because of vaccination and number issues
• Are the vaccinated and the non-vaccinated employees separated at work?
• Do you have a strong anti-vax voice in your workforce?
• Do you have a strong pro-vax voice in your workforce?
• Has the Government or have you independently mandated vaccinations in your workplace?
• Have you the facilities to host a function on your premises?
• What expectations do you think your employees have?

The first decision to make is whether to hold the function in November under the current system or to hold off until December when the traffic light system kicks in.

Holding it in November

It may well be better to grip the whole thing up, take control, and make a plan now that can be communicated, and your team can look forward to. In any event many Christmas functions are held in late November prior to silly season arriving, and this represents an opportunity to just get on with your planning.

Options for Auckland businesses

With a current limit of 25 people and restricted to outside socialising, potential options include:

• A special take away lunch from a reputable restaurant hosted just for employees outside on site or at a scenic recreational park. This could work well if the employee numbers are less than 25.
• The same arrangement but hosted and catered for by a senior manager at their residence
• For larger organisations, holding separated Departmental lunches outside. This could have the feel of a larger gathering but would still meet distancing requirements
• A small tea-time type party, held by Department, with special cakes and snacks provided
• A virtual party with each employee Zooming in. Possibly with a specially delivered food/drink parcel to each employee. This could potentially work for a small organisation separated geographically
• Deferring a party until the rules are clearly established and then holding it sometime in January to start the new year off on a good footing

Holding it in December

With the introduction of the traffic light system, larger gatherings will be permitted, but subject to a filter of vaccination certificates. If vaccination certificates are not used, then holding a Christmas function becomes difficult. If vaccination certificates are used, then up to 100 people can congregate with distancing, seating and separation.

Alongside any of the above options, you could also consider carefully choosing gifts for each member of staff. These could take the form of individual gifts or a choice of vouchers from different suppliers

So, the options are limited, but the important point that won’t be lost on your team is that you have put some thought into what can be done, recognised the importance to them and you have made a decision to acknowledge their sterling efforts this year.

We are here to support you, so if you would like to talk through your situation, please give us a call on 09-445 1077.

Vaccinations!

The hot topic of discussion right now, and the most important thing on many people’s minds as we wait with baited breath to see when Auckland will open up and as we try to understand what a new system will actually mean for us all.

But as well as the magic 90% mark giving us a date when we finally get to see family outside of Auckland, go to the gym, attend a gig, or have our next meal out, the vaccination topic also brings a lot of employment complexity and many questions for organisations to answer.

Some of the questions posed dive into unchartered employment and legal waters, and the considered answers need to be communicated with both balance and empathy. They also depend on the individual circumstances of each employee and each employer. Employers are also making decisions with a bigger picture in mind that also includes the need for talent retention.

Vaccination mandates

It is important to be clear that you cannot insist that employees be vaccinated. You can, however, mandate that certain roles may only be performed by vaccinated employees for safety reasons. The details on what roles and industries have been mandated by the Government, and will be in the future can be found here (Mandatory vaccinations for workers | Unite against COVID-19 (covid19.govt.nz)).

Even if your Industry isn’t covered by the Government mandate, it may well be that there is enough risk of your employees being exposed to Covid, that mandating roles to only be performed by vaccinated employees is still required to keep them safe. To determine this, Worksafe have published guidelines for performing a risk assessment. This information is currently being updated further, and this updated information is due to be published any day now. However, you can find the current information here (How to decide what work requires a vaccinated employee and WorkSafe’s enforcement approach | WorkSafe.)

Either way, if you decide to go down this path you still have to consider your responsibilities under the Employment Relations Act. You need to ensure you act as a fair and reasonable employer as you make your decisions and communicate with your team.

This would include:

1. Developing a draft vaccination policy, which clearly outlines:

• Your Company’s position on vaccinations
• The processes you intend to follow to collect and store vaccination information
• The process for vaccine exemptions
• The application of the policy

2. Consulting with your employees and any relevant Unions around your vaccination policy. This would include outlining the reasons for your position in writing and allowing them a period to consider this and respond
3. Genuinely considering the feedback you receive in making your decisions, answering questions, and providing responses
4. Providing your final decision in writing and allowing a reasonable time for this to take effect
5. If you are mandating vaccination, considering redeployment options or alternative ways of working for unvaccinated workers, before making the decision to terminate their employment.
6. The Government has also announced a 4-week compulsory notice period for anyone who’s employment is terminated due to their vaccination status, and while this isn’t legislated yet – it will be, so you will have to take this into account.

Vaccination Status

Some businesses may not be in the position to mandate vaccinations, yet there may be a need to understand the vaccination status of your team. This may impact the level of safety precautions you should be taking for Covid in the future or be something you need to consider for your normal BAU events.

What will happen if you want to visit a customer site where vaccination is mandated, yet you have an unvaccinated Sales Rep? Or you plan a staff event where the venue requires vaccinations passports to enter? Or your IT specialist can’t travel to another site, as they can’t board a plane?

These are all future possibilities we will have to consider, and that are just around the corner for us once the traffic light system comes into force.

Being armed with the knowledge of your team’s vaccination status helps you prepare for these events, can focus your vaccination campaigns in the right area, and helps you understand the impact any changes announced may have on your team.

The Privacy Act is a key consideration when asking for this information. You can make the request, but providing it should be voluntary. The information you gather must also be stored securely, and you should communicate clearly why the information is being sought, what is will be used for and  who will have access to it.

And there is more.

Other areas you will need to consider as a business will be:

1. Your pre-employment process and how vaccination status fits in with this
2. Your position on contractors or visitors who come onto your worksite

Each of these requires careful consideration, adherence to relevant legislation, and an employee centred approach which focuses on keeping your people safe.

While we have been in lockdown for some time and it may feel likes time is moving slowly, changes, updates, mandates and requirements in the vaccination space are evolving quickly, will continue to do so and will impact every workplace.

We recommend that every business takes the time to think this through carefully and acts now to keep your teams safe, be well set up for whatever comes next, and make sure you feel confident and ready for a happy Christmas break.

$^&?!$^& Covid!

Isn’t this what most owners, managers and team members are feeling? It is extremely stressful for some, inconvenient for others, an irritant all round and just a complete drag for everyone.

As a nation it feels like we are all just well over it. Workplaces certainly are. And, without doubt, there will be a lot more patience required and a lot more sacrifices to be made as this Delta outbreak is contained, so that everyone can go about their business in a safe way.

This feels like the current reality and teams and individual team members in organisations are miffed. We understand that.

As a Leader and a Manager one of the key questions to answer at this time is:

What can I do right now to both look after and keep my team members motivated so that we are ready to take on the world both now and in the future?

The huge challenge is to steer your team through what is naturally a low point, to maintain morale with short-term customised solutions, and to prepare them both psychologically and practically to be ready to enthusiastically take on whatever is needed to be done.

You need a team firing on all cylinders to achieve that – they can’t be just dragging themselves around the park because that doesn’t help either now or going forward. It will take too long for them to get up into a go forward position, and having a workforce ready, willing and able to hit the ground running is what is required.,

Some pointers:

• As a Manager stay positive and lead from the front at all times. Look after yourself and exercise, rest and reflect
• Deal with and solve the everyday business practicalities of lock-down calmly and with focus
• Claim the financial assistance you legitimately can
• Pay special attention to your team, care for them and communicate frequently with them about both their own personal welfare and the opportunities that will arise going forward
• Lay out your approach to both worst and best-case business scenarios and try and address any feelings of insecurity in your team. Open and honest communication helps.
• Make plans beyond the immediate. Once you feel you have done all that you can to address the immediate issues, look forward and focus on some medium and longer-term goals, and involve your team in discussions around them. This lets them know that there is light at the end of the tunnel and also acts as a distraction from the current natural heaviness of a lock-down
• Investigate Virtual seminars for your managers. Learning is a strong motivator and will help them be future focused.
• Encourage daily catchups
• Looking ahead, investigate and start the planning with your teams for:
  • Person to person management training & development
  • Succession Planning
  • Culture development/Values review
  • Performance Appraisal process review
  • An HR systems review
  • A comprehensive Wellness program introduction

The overall message is that within the constraints that lockdown brings, it’s critical for both your business’s health and the wellbeing of your team to still try and continue BAU, keeping an eye on the future as much as possible.

This approach normalises life for your team, keeps them moving and focused, and opens up a path forward. It gives them hope and reassurance that life will return to close to normal in the future. It  can bring the enthusiasm for the business and motivation back to life.