COVID-19 Health and Safety

KIA ORA!

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO KEEP YOUR WORKERS AND CLIENTS SAFE?

A simple but effective health and safety system identifying risks and controls is a great start.

Keep calm, understanding that your best is what you can do – find help if you need it.

For buy-in to the health and safety plan, ensure all workers participate in the planning process.

Consider what is in the employment agreement for your workers before you start making changes in the work expectations.

ROLES, NOT INDIVIDUALS

Your focus in the risk assessment must be on the role – the work being done – rather than the individual performing the role.

If you want your employees to be vaccinated for reasons other than work health and safety that is an employment matter.

HEALTH AND SAFETY SYSTEMS

Under the current health and safety legislation, the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA 2015), all workplaces are required to maintain a personalised health and safety system to ensure good practice in managing the work that is undertaken by the PCBU.

Management of Covid requirements is best applied within your own workplace health and safety systems.

This requires an assessment based on the work being undertaken and the associated exposures to risks of all kinds.

HEALTH AND SAFETY – RISK ASSESSMENT

HOW WILL YOU PROVIDE A SAFE PLACE OF WORK

AT RED, ACTION WILL BE NEEDED TO BE TAKEN TO PROTECT BOTH AT-RISK PEOPLE AND PROTECT OUR HEALTH SYSTEM FROM AN UNSUSTAINABLE NUMBER OF HOSPITALISATIONS.

Record keeping and scanning will be required.

Face coverings will be mandatory on flights, public transport, in taxis, retail, public venues, recommended whenever leaving the house

Public facilities- open with up to 100 people, based on 1m distancing

Retail- open with capacity limits based on 1m distancing.

Workplaces- working from home encouraged

ECEs, schools, and kura are open with public health measures

Specified outdoor community events- allowed with capacity limits.

PLACES WITH VACCINATION CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS

There will be restrictions if vaccination certificates are used

Hospitality

Gatherings, such as at places of worship or marae

Weddings and civil union ceremonies

Events (indoor/outdoor)

Gyms

close contact businesses with public health requirements in place

PLACES WHERE VACCINATION CERTIFICATES NOT USED

If a business, organisation or service, does not request proof of vaccine, restrictions will apply

Hospitality – contactless only

Gatherings, such as at places of worship or marae – up to 10 people

Weddings and civil union ceremonies – up to 10 people

Funerals and tangihanga – up to 10 people

Tertiary education – distance learning only

Events (indoor and outdoor)

Gyms

WORKSAFE NZ GUIDANCE NOTES

Our expectation is that to decide whether work requires a vaccinated employee:

you carry out an adequate risk assessment, and

engage effectively with workers and their representatives.

Where a business or service can demonstrate it has done this, we will not take prosecution action if we disagree with the decisions you made in your risk assessment. (This only applies to enforcement action within WorkSafe’s responsibilities.) We will instead take an education-first approach, so you understand what is reasonable to require in your circumstances and have the opportunity to act on it.

WORK THAT MUST BE CARRIED OUT BY VACCINATED WORKERS

Certain work may only be carried out by vaccinated workers. The COVID-19 public health response (vaccinations) order 2021 specifies who those workers are. This is a public health requirement.

Vaccination is mandated for workers at businesses that must use my vaccine pass to operate, or operate with fewer restrictions, at all levels of the covid-19 protection framework. This mandate applies to hospitality, events, gatherings, close contact businesses and gyms. It also applies to on-site tertiary education at the red level.

To continue doing work in these areas, workers will need to have their first vaccination by the day that the covid-19 protection framework comes into effect, on 3 december 2021. These workers will need to be fully vaccinated by 17 january 2022 to continue doing that work.

CONSIDER THESE RISK FACTORS

How long does the work require the employee to be in that proximity to other people? (brief contact = lower risk; lengthy contact = higher risk)

Does the work involve regular interaction with people considered at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, such as people with underlying health conditions? (little to none = lower risk; whole time = higher risk)

What is the risk of COVID-19 infection and transmission in the work environment when compared to the risk outside work? (equal to outside work = lower risk; higher than outside work = higher risk)

Will the work continue to involve regular interaction with unknown people if the region is at a higher alert level? (no = lower risk; yes = higher risk).

Record your results

CONSIDER OTHER CONTROLS

Identify any further infectious disease controls you and your employees could put in place to reduce the risk. The Ministry of Health has detailed information about how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at work.

Assess the results of your risk factor discussion and the impact of any extra controls you will implement.

If your risk ratings tend toward higher risk and you are not able to reduce that risk by implementing more controls, you and your employees should consider whether the work should be performed by a vaccinated employee.

If your risk assessment is clear that the risk of COVID-19 infection and transmission through a particular work task is no higher than outside work, you may decide not to require the role to be performed by a vaccinated employee – but you can still act. Making it as easy as possible for your employees to get vaccinated is a great way to support New Zealand’s fight against COVID-19.