How should I approach staff about vaccinations in the workplace?

There are a number of reasons why you should think carefully about how you approach your staff about the Covid-19 vaccinations. One of the main reasons why is because of the potential risk of discrimination arising if there are conflicting views held by employees on the vaccine.

To avoid sparking controversial conversations about the vaccine between employees, a good way to approach them about the vaccination is to do it individually. Some staff may happily share information whilst others may not feel so comfortable and therefore it could help by reassuring them that disclosing the information is voluntary and not an obligation.

Being transparent about why you are seeking disclosure from them about their vaccine status, is likely to result in more employees coming forward. You could for example, explain that it is in the interests of the business and health & safety to know how many staff have had the vaccine, those who are yet to receive it and those who will not be having it, so that you can plan and put in place measures for the reintegration of the workforce or to maintain a Covid safe environment.

You could do this by notifying all employees in one email of your intention to approach them individually about the matter or asking them to respond voluntarily. This is likely to ease any concerns from employees that they have been selected for a particular reason to give information if they know that it is a task that involves the input of the entire workforce. Additionally, reassuring your employees that any information provided by them will remain confidential is also likely to encourage them to come forward and answer any questions you have.

It is always worth noting that if you do choose to approach your staff about the vaccine, be mindful about how you react with the information and take steps to ensure that staff are not treated unfavourably because of the information they share or choose not to share.

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