Introduction
A vaccine to prevent serious health effects from coronavirus has been developed and made available to the public. The purpose of this policy is to set out our organisation’s stance on the vaccine as it affects our workforce and the related rights of our employees.
Vaccine status
Individual opinions on vaccines can vary greatly and we appreciate that having a vaccine is generally a personal choice, sometimes dictated by personal circumstances such as health or religion. The Government has not made the taking of the vaccine mandatory and therefore it remains a voluntary exercise
Our stance
As an employer, we have a duty to ensure the safety of our employees. In addition, the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974 requires employers to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all their workers. Despite the extensive measures we have taken to ensure that our workplace and our working arrangements are, and continue to be, Covid-secure, the vaccine provides a greater level of personal safety against serious illness.
[EITHER]
Because of this, we encourage our employees to take up the opportunity to have the vaccine when it is offered to them.
We expect our employees to be treated with dignity and respect by their colleagues in relation to their decision over the vaccine. The organisation will not accept any bullying or harassment, or other unwanted behaviour, against an employee because of their decision.
[OR]
Because of this, we require employees to have the vaccine when it is offered to them, unless there are valid reasons not to, for example, pregnancy, individual medical advice that the vaccine may be harmful due to existing medical conditions, religious beliefs. This is because (insert reasons for requiring vaccine to be taken). Failure to have the vaccine may lead to consequences including temporary removal from the workplace.
Client note: Where this option is used, remove the clause “Making an informed decision” below
Making an informed decision
It is normal that some of our employees may have concerns about having the vaccine. We encourage all of our workforce to make an informed decision by paying attention to official information sources such as the NHS. We would ask our employees to check the source of any information they read about the vaccine as we are aware that there is a certain amount of uncertified information available.
[OPTIONAL]
The organisation is currently running an awareness campaign on the vaccine, and you can find more information about this at (insert details).
Having the vaccine
Current Government strategy for vaccinating the UK population is formulated on a priority basis according to age, industry sector and vulnerable status. Employees will receive notification of their vaccine appointment which may be at their normal GP surgery or at one of the vaccination centres set up specifically for this purpose. The vaccine is offered free of charge. It is currently administered in two doses, to be provided at separate appointments.
We encourage employees to verify a notification purporting to provide vaccine appointment details if this appears suspicious due to a number of scams attempting to gain bank details. Employees should notify (insert name/role) of their appointment time on each occasion, giving as much notice as possible if time off work is needed. Employees must provide written evidence of the appointment date and time to their manager.
[EITHER]
Vaccine appointments are to be treated in the same way as other medical appointments so, where possible, employees should attempt to secure an appointment outside of their normal working hours, or as close to the start or the end of the working day as possible. Where time is taken off work to attend the appointment, this will be unpaid.
[OR]
Vaccine appointments are to be treated in the same way as other medical appointments so, where possible, employees should attempt to secure an appointment outside of their normal working hours, or as close to the start or the end of the working day as possible. Employees are required to make up time taken off work to get the vaccine, as agreed with the employee’s manager
[OR]
Employees should attempt to secure a vaccine appointment outside of their normal working hours, or as close to the start or the end of the working day as possible. Where time is taken off work to attend the appointment, this will be paid to a maximum of …… hours per appointment. Time taken in excess of this on each separate occasion will be unpaid.
[OR]
Employees should attempt to secure a vaccine appointment outside of their normal working hours, or as close to the start or the end of the working day as possible. Time taken off work to attend the appointment will be paid.
[OR]
Employees are entitled to paid time off to attend a vaccine appointment.
[OR]
(Insert other arrangements for time off/pay during time off).
