We strongly encourage our staff to have the vaccine for Covid as soon as they are eligible and medically advised to do so, and to assist with this, staff may take paid time off if needed (please discuss with your manager)
However, it is important to understand that even if you have had the vaccine, it is an additional protective measure – in common with all the current Covid compliant measures identified in Risk Assessments and Office Rules etc.
There may be some jobs or tasks that are particularly high risk, and, if so, there may be a job or task related requirement to have the vaccine in order to do that job safely. If you think that is you, please talk to your manager.
This is a complex area that invites strong opinions. As an employer, we owe a duty of care to all our staff, and have therefore been working on a Vaccination and Asymptomatic Testing Policy.
Views have already been sought from Business Managers and members of Staff Hub, many of which have been incorporated into the policy and views from all staff have also been requested – the consultation period for this is now closed and SLT will be considering your responses to feedback in due course.
For the avoidance of doubt in the meantime, staff should be reassured that vaccine status will only be discussed with staff conducting activities in an environment where the risk of infection is high and for which no other control measures are adequate. The vast majority of roles or activities will not fall under this category and having the vaccine remains a matter of individual choice. Our position as employer is to strongly encourage it – and for that purpose you may attend vaccine appointments in work time if needed. There are no plans to make access to our buildings contingent on vaccine status, current government policy is that the vaccine is an additional protective measure alongside all the other Covid measures including regular lateral flow testing, which we also strongly encourage.
More details will be available in the policy once finalised.
2 Comments
I think this seems fair and reasonable
Many thanks – SLT put a lot of thought into it. Balancing duty of care and individual freedoms can be extremely complex, it’s good to hear you think we have the balance right.