Legal opinion: employers can require shot

• Author: Riley Kennedy
• Published date: 13 October 2021
• Publication title: Otago Daily Times: Web Edition Articles (New Zealand)

Earlier this week the Government announced compulsory vaccinations for teachers and front-line health workers.

Port workers were required to be vaccinated before the start of this month.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said mandating vaccination was a legal matter for businesses to work out, rather than a decision for the Ministry of Health.

The Government would be providing advice and support and work to ensure the legal basis was clear was ongoing, he said.

Anderson Lloyd associate James Cowan, from Dunedin, said

a range of businesses were seeking direction on compulsory vaccination.

''First, it was our clients in aged care and health that were inquiring, but now it is a range of industries,'' Mr Cowan said.

Businesses could justify the need for vaccination if it was needed to help keep employees safe under the health and safety legislations.

To get that justification, a business would need to complete a health risk assessment and then complete agreement with staff.

Mr Cowan also believed businesses could decide it was needed for commercial reasons.

''If a client said 'we are only going to engage with you if all of your staff are vaccinated' that would be giving the employer a bit of a different justification rather than just a health imperative,'' he said.

Employment New Zealand's website said that a business could ask a worker about their vaccination status.

If the staff member...