§ The County
Council encourages all employees to take up the offer of a vaccine
when they are offered it.
§ Staff should
ensure they are fully informed on the benefits of vaccination
before making individual choices.
§ Staff who
receive the vaccine must continue to follow government rules on
managing COVID-19 and COVID-19 secure workplace procedures as they
could potentially transmit the virus to unvaccinated people.
§ Vaccinations
are included as a control measure within the COVID-19 Individual
Risk Assessment.
§ Staff without a
vaccination for medical reasons should ensure that all other
control measures are adhered to and discuss any concerns with their
manager as part of their risk assessment.
1.1.
Vaccinations are free of charge on the NHS. They are being
administered according to a priority list at vaccination centres,
including some hospitals, sports stadiums, conference centres and
GP surgeries. We encourage employees who are not registered with a
GP to do so as soon as they can. Guidance on how to register with a
GP surgery is available on the NHS website.
2.1.
We ask that, when a coronavirus vaccination becomes available,
employees take the opportunity to be vaccinated. We understand that
this is ultimately each individual's choice, but we encourage our
workforce to make an informed decision by:
§ reading up
about COVID-19 vaccinations via official sources such as the NHS
website;
§ paying
attention to the information the NHS provides when offering a
vaccine, and;
§ being wary of
misinformation around COVID-19 vaccinations put out by unreliable
sources.
3.1.
Many County Council staff work directly with the most vulnerable
people in our society. These staff are encouraged to help protect
themselves and our clients by accepting the vaccination when
offered.
4.1.
From 11 November 2021 staff who need to enter a CQC registered
residential settings for residents requiring nursing or personal
care in order to do work are legally required to have a full course
of a COVID-19 vaccine unless they have a medical exemption or are
under 18. This includes staff working in the setting but not
providing personal care and staff, agency workers, volunteers or
contractors who are required to enter the building to undertake any
non-emergency work there.
4.2.
Staff whose work base is the CQC registered residential care home
will be required to evidence that they have a full course of an
approved COVID-19 vaccine or that they have a medical exemption
prior to the date it becomes a legal requirement or during the
recruitment process for newly appointed staff.
4.3.
Staff whose role may require them to undertake work in a CQC
registered care home as part of their duties will be asked to
evidence their vaccine status at the point they seek to enter the
CQC registered residetial care home, every time they enter the care
home.
4.4.
Anyone who cannot evidence their vaccine status or medical
exemption will be refused entry to the building.
4.5.
Appointment cards cannot be accepted as evidence of vaccine status.
Vaccine status, including medical exemption, can be evidenced
via:
• The NHS App
• The NHS website –
NHS.uk
• The
NHS COVID Pass letter (obtained by calling 119 to request it is
posted)
4.6.
The person checking the vaccine status will not take a copy of the
vaccine status but they will record that the persons vaccine status
has been checked before allowing the person access to the building.
A record that the vaccine status has been checked is a requirement
of the CQC and will be checked during inspection.
4.7.
In certain urgent and emergency situations vaccination status of
staff, agency workers and contractors will not need to be checked.
Appendix 1 outlines example sitiuations where vaccine status will
not be checked.
4.8.
If service delivery to the CQC care home is impacted by low
vaccination take up advice from HR Advisory services should
be sought.
5.1.
The COVID-19 Individual Risk Assessment includes vaccination as a
control measure.
5.2.
Staff with concerns about the vaccination are encouraged to read
the governement resources on vaccination for guidance.
5.3.
Health and social care staff working directly with service users
will be asked by their manager to confirm if they have had the
vaccine. This will form part of the individual risk assessment with
the purpose of determining which control measures are in place.
5.4.
Medical information that an employee has received a vaccination
will constitute special category data and as such records will be
kept in accordance with GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. If
vaccine status is checked a copy of the vaccine status proof will
not be retained.
5.5.
In settings where being vaccinated is not mandatory, if a front
line member of staff does not wish to confirm their vaccination
status or confirms they are medically exempt from having the
vaccine, managers should consider whether any additional control
measures can be put in place as part of the risk assessment.
5.6.
In settings where being vaccinated is mandatory, if a member of
staff confirms they are medically exempt from having the vaccine,
managers should consider whether any additional control measures
can be put in place as part of the risk assessment.
6. Time
off for vaccination appointments
6.1.
Where possible, staff should attend COVID-19 vaccination
appointments outside of their normal working hours. In the event
that this is not possible, staff can take paid time off to attend
under the County Council’s policy on time off for medical
appointments.
6.2.
Employees should obtain approval from their line manager in advance
of taking time off to attend a COVID-19 vaccination appointment.
They should give their line manager as much notice as possible.
Line managers may, at their discretion, ask employees to produce
evidence of their appointment, for example an appointment card or
email/text inviting them to a COVID-19 vaccination appointment.
7.
Return to work following vaccination appointments
7.1.
Following a vaccination, employees should be able to resume their
normal activities, including working, as long as they feel well.
This means that employees should return to work as soon as they can
after their vaccination appointment. If it is not practical for the
employee to return to work immediately after their appointment, for
example, if it is towards the end of their working day, this should
be discussed and agreed with their line manager.
7.2.
Employees who are unwell after receiving a coronavirus vaccination
and unable to attend work should record their sickness absence in
the usual way. This should be notified as soon as reasonably
practicable, preferably before they are due to start work and in
any event no later than one hour after they are due to begin
work.
8.1.
We recognise that the subject of the COVID-19 vaccination programme
can be divisive and lead to the expression of strong opinions.
However, employees must remain responsible and respectful when
communicating with their colleagues about COVID-19
vaccinations.
8.2.
Employees must not act against colleagues in a way that could
amount to bullying or harassment as a consequence of anything
relating to the individual right to decide on whether to have a
COVID-19 vaccination or any related matter. In line with the
Council’s existing policies, the harassment or intimidation
of colleagues because of their views or individual circumstances
may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal. Any
employee who is offended by, or concerned about, a colleague's
behaviour in this regard should raise the matter with management in
the first instance and can subsequently raise a formal complaint
via the grievance procedure, if the matter remains unresolved.
Appendix 1
Situations where
vaccine status will not be checked upon entering a CQC registered
residental care setting.
The registered manager is ultimately
responsible for making decisions about whether it is appropriate
that a person enters the registered setting without their vaccine
status being checked, however the registered manager or their
delegates will be able to seek advice from senior managers to
ensure they have access to the appropriate support and guidance on
specific circumstances.
In an emergency
situation
It is the registered person's responsibility
to use their professional judgement to determine whether a
situation is an emergency. Registered persons will be expected to
keep a log of all emergency situations, including details of the
circumstances, during which people entered the home without showing
proof of vaccination or exemption. An emergency situation could
include (but is not limited to):
·
Members of the public assisting in the event of flood or fire
·
Social workers responding to immediate safe-guarding concerns
·
Emergency services staff attending the care home in the execution
of their duties are exempt from the requirement. This includes:
·
Members of the fire and rescue services attending the care home to
execute their duties
·
Members of the police service attending the care home to execute
their duties.
·
Members of the health service deployed for emergency response
To undertake urgent
maintenance work
It is the manager's responsibility to use
their professional judgement to determine whether a situation
requires urgent maintenance work. Managers will be expected to keep
a log of all urgent maintenance work during which people entered
the home without showing proof of vaccination or medical exemption,
and a short description of the incident for record keeping
purposes
If urgent maintenance work is required in the
event of a risk to life or continuity of care, workers are exempt
from these requirements. This could include, but is not limited
to:
·
Failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity or water supply
·
Dangerous electrical fault
Serious damage caused by fire, flood, storm or explosion
·
Burst water service
·
Serious roof leak
·
Gas leak
·
Any fault or damage in the care home that makes the care home
unsafe or insecure
·
A serious fault in a lift or staircase
