Safety and Covid-19 Vaccination Policy

Effective 1 April 2020

K & B plumbing Limited is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy working environment for the safety and health of our employees and other persons and visitors to our business or our work sites.

Health and safety is everyone's business, and everyone is expected to share in our commitment to avoid all accidents and incidents, which may cause personal injury, property damage or loss of any kind.

Every employee is expected to act safely at ALL times to ensure their own safety and welfare and that of their fellow employees and others within the business and on all work sites.

We will ensure the safety of employees by:

  • Providing and maintaining a safe working environment
  • Providing facilities for health and safety
  • Ensuring all plant and equipment is safe for use
  • Ensuring all employees and other people within the business are not exposed to unmanaged or uncontrolled hazards
  • Developing and implementing emergency and evacuation plans

To achieve this we will:

  • Systematically identify and control all hazards accounted within the business
  • Where there are significant hazards we will take all practicable steps to eliminate, isolate and or minimise these hazards to prevent any injury or damage
  • Inform all employees of the hazards and the controls in place
  • Ensure all employees are properly trained and supervised (where required)
  • Inform all employees of emergency and evacuation plans
  • Record all incidents and accidents, and take all practicable steps to prevent these events from happening again
  • Carry out planned self-inspections to monitor health and safety
  • Ensure all employees are given reasonable opportunities to contribute effectively in ongoing processes for the improvement of health and safety in our workplace

COVID-19 Safety Plan

K&B Plumbing Limited is committed to ensuring the health and safety of all staff and persons who are affected by our work.

K&B Plumbing Limited’s priority is to ensure we do everything we reasonably can to protect and prevent all persons within our community being exposed to the risk of COVID-19.

K&B Plumbing Limited has determined that it is necessary under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 to put in place a COVID-19 Vaccination Policy to minimise the risk of exposure to and transmission of COVID-19 in our workplace and to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of our staff, clients, and other persons who may be affected by our work.

K&B Plumbing Limited strongly believes vaccination provides the greatest protection against COVID-19 and wishes to ensure that all workers have the opportunity to be vaccinated against COVID-19 without being disadvantaged in the workplace.

Commencement

This policy will come into effect on 1 December 2021 subject to any further NZ Government announcements that may impact on that timing or the terms of this policy.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to:

  • Set out the obligations and responsibilities of all people covered by this Policy;
  • Outline K&B Plumbing Limited’s responsibility and commitment to ensuring a safe and healthy workplace for all workers, clients, customers, and visitors; and
  • Ensure as far as reasonably practicable a safe and healthy workplace.

Scope

This Policy applies to all workers, including (but not limited to) employees and contractors who have been engaged to provide services to or on behalf of K&B Plumbing Limited.

This Policy applies subject to any NZ Government orders and/or legislation enacted relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 vaccines.

Responsibilities

All workers are responsible for:

  • Familiarising themselves and complying with this Policy and its requirements;
  • Ensuring they are aware of any safety requirements (including COVID-19 control measures) and guidelines and procedures that apply to their role;
  • Following official NZ Government health requirements in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Policy:

  • A vaccinated person is a person who has received a full course of the COVID-19 vaccine, as recommended by the New Zealand Ministry of Health, and who has provided K&B Plumbing Limited with satisfactory proof of vaccination. For the avoidance of doubt, this includes receiving further vaccine courses (including for example booster shots) which may be recommended from time to time;
  • The COVID-19 vaccine means a COVID-19 vaccine that is approved for use in New Zealand. Vaccines which are currently approved include Pfizer BioNTech (Comirnaty), AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson). If a worker has received a different COVID-19 vaccine overseas, K&B Plumbing Limited will assess whether this is sufficient for the purpose of this Policy on a case-by-case basis and will have regard to whether the vaccine is approved by the World Health Organisation-COVAX.
  • Proof of vaccination means written proof that a person has received a full course of a COVID-19 Vaccine. Examples include a Vaccine Certificate from My Covid Record, a letter from the Ministry of Health, a Medical Certificate, or when implemented the Government digital vaccination certificate/QR code system to be used under the COVID-19 Protection Framework.

Activities restricted to vaccinated persons

Although K&B Plumbing Limited respects that each worker is entitled to make their own choice about whether to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, it has identified and assessed that the risk of COVID-19 infection and transmission, and also the risk of serious illness, is highest for persons who are unvaccinated.

Accordingly, K&B Plumbing Limited has determined that to ensure so far as reasonably practicable the safety, health and wellbeing of its workers and other persons they may come into contact with, unvaccinated persons will not be permitted to engage in certain activities which present a heightened risk of COVID-19 infection and transmission.

Restricted activities

From the date this Policy comes into effect, only workers who have provided K&B Plumbing Limited with satisfactory proof of vaccination will be permitted to:

  • Access and work from K&B Plumbing Limited’s offices;
  • Attend in-person meetings or events held by K&B Plumbing Limited;
  • Attend third party and client sites for work purposes;
  • Undertake trades work at any residential or commercial site; and
  • Undertake work-related travel (which includes both domestic and international travel).

Unvaccinated workers

Unvaccinated workers (including workers who have declined to share their vaccination status with K&B Plumbing Limited will not be entitled to engage in the restricted activities outlined above.

Where possible and practical, K&B Plumbing Limited will still support unvaccinated workers to continue to perform their roles remotely.  Such as arrangement will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is meeting the needs of both parties.

Where it is impractical for an unvaccinated worker to perform their role remotely, and/or if it is necessary for an unvaccinated worker to engage in restricted activities or attend our offices in order to discharge their responsibilities, K&B Plumbing Limited will consult with the worker about how to manage this.  As part of this consultation, K&B Plumbing Limited may give consideration to alternative work arrangements including:

  • Possible modifications to the worker’s role including for example reduced or alternative duties; and
  • Redeploying the worker into an alternative role which can be performed remotely.

In the event that an alternative work arrangement cannot be identified, is impractical to implement, or is not agreed to by the worker concerned, K&B Plumbing Limited may consider termination of the worker’s engagement or employment as a last resort.

Third party access to K&B Plumbing Limited’s offices

Consistent with the intent of this policy, access to K&B Plumbing Limited office and any K&B Plumbing Limited event by all visitors (including clients, suppliers, and tradespeople) will be restricted to only fully vaccinated persons who will need to provide proof of vaccination as a condition of entry to its premises and any K&B Plumbing Limited events.

Persons aged under 12 years of age (or younger if vaccination is approved by the NZ Government) who are not able to be vaccinated may attend K&B Plumbing Limited offices if necessary.

Exemptions for persons who are unable to be vaccinated for protected reason

K&B Plumbing Limited recognises that certain persons are unable to be vaccinated for reasons which are protected by the Human Rights Act 1993.  An example of this may include where a person is unable to be vaccinated due to a diagnosed health condition.

K&B Plumbing Limited will, upon request, consider exemptions for workers who are unable to be vaccinated due to a protected reason, and who need to engage in an activity which would otherwise be restricted by this policy.

Exemption requests need to be made in writing to the Manager.  When making a request, the worker will need to explain why they are unable to be vaccinated, and provide adequate supporting evidence, e.g., medical advice from a suitably qualified health practitioner who determines (in the course of examining the person) it would be inappropriate for that person to be vaccinated in accordance with recognised Ministry of Health criteria.

An exemption will only be granted if K&B Plumbing Limited is satisfied that:

  • The worker’s reason for not being vaccinated is supported by adequate evidence and is protected under the Human Rights Act 1993; and
  • It is reasonably practicable to implement any additional safety or control measures which would be required if the exemption is granted; and
  • Granting the exemption will not expose the worker or other persons to unacceptable risk; and
  • Any accommodation or charges required to accommodate the worker does not unreasonably disrupt K&B Plumbing Limited activities.

Additional health and safety measures

It is recognised that vaccination is only one part of managing the risks posed by COVID-19.

Accordingly, all workers, regardless of their vaccination status, are required to comply with any further health and safety control measures which K&B Plumbing Limited may put in place from time to time. These measures may include (but are not limited to) requirements relating to Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) use, physical distancing, or client/third party site visits, and may include restrictions on activities which are otherwise permitted for vaccinated persons under this Policy.

Given the speed with which the COVID-19 pandemic can evolve, any additional measures will be set out in the COVID-19 Control Register as updated by K&B Plumbing Limited from time to time.

Vaccination register

In order to administer and ensure compliance with this Policy, K&B Plumbing Limited is required to compile and maintain a Vaccine Register which includes the following information:

  • The names of all workers;
  • Whether they have provided satisfactory proof of vaccination; and
  • Whether they have been granted an exemption under this Policy and the conditions of any exemption.

The Vaccine Register, and/or any information contained within it, will:

  • Be used solely for the purposes of:
    • Ensuring the health and safety of all workers and other persons who interact with workers and/or attend the workplace;
    • Monitoring compliance with the requirements of this Policy; and
    • Demonstrating compliance with any third party or client requirements relating to the vaccination status of K&B Plumbing Limited’s workers (subject to appropriate consent being obtained from a worker or workers);
  • Be stored in a secure manner;
  • Only be disclosed to a third party if required by law or with the consent of the worker concerned (for example if a client requests proof of vaccination before allowing a worker to attend their premises);
  • Only be retained for as long as there is a need to have knowledge of a worker’s vaccination status and/or to distinguish between vaccinated and unvaccinated workers;
  • Be destroyed in a safe and secure manner once there is no longer a need for K&B Plumbing Limited to retain information about a worker’s vaccine status.

Where to obtain further information

If anyone has any questions about this policy and how it applies to them, they should speak with their Manager.

Where can I find more information about vaccinations?

K&B Plumbing Limited recommends anyone seeking further information about vaccinations, or who has any health concerns, to speak to their medical practitioner. General information can also be found online at https://covid19.govt.nz/ or at Ministry of Health New Zealand website: https://www.health.govt.nz

Review

K&B Plumbing Limited will periodically review this Policy and the need for such restrictions and requirements in accordance with NZ Government orders and or legislation enacted relating to COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 vaccines.