Now that New Zealand has moved into the new Covid-19 Protection Framework (otherwise known as the traffic light system), the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise is reminding employers and their workers of some of the new rules that have come into effect.

Mandatory vaccinations

There are some sectors where COVID-19 vaccinations are mandatory. These include border and managed isolation and quarantine workers, those in the education and health and disability sectors, prison workers, the NZ Police and NZ Defence Force.

Other workers who are required to get vaccinated are those who fall within the My Vaccine Pass mandate — hospitality, events, close-contact businesses and gyms. The mandate also applies to on-site tertiary education when Red settings are in place.

Depending on the type of work done, there are different exemption grounds that may apply.

Employers must provide paid time off for employees to get vaccinated

Employees are now eligible for paid time off from work to receive their Covid-19 vaccination.

Employees will be entitled to reasonable paid time away from work to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. In agreeing what time off is reasonable, employers and employees should consider matters such as the location of the nearest vaccination centre, the availability of appointment times, transport options, travel time, and the 15-minute monitoring time after the vaccination.

 New requirement for paid notice period when employment is terminated because of vaccination status

The Government has passed legislation to provide a minimum four-week paid notice period when people have their employment agreements terminated because they are not vaccinated, and their work requires vaccination.

This change will only apply to employees who do not have a notice period, or whose notice periods are shorter than four weeks. If an employee has a notice period longer than four weeks in their employment agreement, that will continue to apply.

Vaccination assessment tool

The Government has announced that there will soon be a new assessment tool businesses can use to decide if work at their business must be done by vaccinated people. More information and guidance about the tool will be available shortly at business.govt.nz