Thursday, August 26, 2021

Can a business incentivise employees to get vaccinated?

An uncomfortable question to ask. The proverbial can of worms has been opened, and the lid was thrown over the fence.

In short, there is no definite answer to this complex issue. 

Over 40 subscribers made their case, many going into detail. It would be unfair and unprofessional to quote, or even worse, to paraphrase or digest experts’ comments; this is not a job for a watchmaker. However, it is obvious that there are three major approaches that businesses are using to ‘handle’ the issue.

Before we go there, let's point out the obvious: if as a business owner you intend to act in any way, seek professional advice or at least, do your own research. Don't rush into it, or blindly copy someone's solution because copy and paste may not work. Such an approach can actually cause more harm than good.

1. "Brute force"

Make the vaccination and testing compulsory to all employees. Those who refuse to get vaccinated are required to provide negative test results every 3 days. Businesses which have implemented brute force techniques are reporting amazingly high vaccination rates. Also, they are confident that the Government is "silently behind them". Beware: while the Government may be sympathetic to businesses taking matters into their own hands, only a handful of industries have an official blessing. What works for health workers may not necessarily work for watchmakers or machinists. 

Quite frankly, I was shocked at Alan Joyce's comment that any staff that refused the covid vaccination as part of the Qantas ‘no jab, no job’ policy will have decided that "aviation is not the area for them". Can you seriously say that to a pilot with 30 years’ experience? I certainly cannot and will not corner my highly trained employees who are vital and irreplaceable.

2. "Softly and gently"

There are many cases where throwing a few dollars on a problem could do wonders, but any solution that can be bought with money alone is a cheap solution. Unfortunately, monetary incentive is problematic in a number of ways: it opens a business to discrimination. If an employee has a genuine reason not to be vaccinated, then he could feel discriminated against with the incentive policy. If he develops a health problem a day or five years later, then he could potentially sue the business for damages. A business cannot offer an incentive to employees yet to be vaccinated; the offer has to be retroactive and apply to those who are already vaccinated. Money exchanging hands is an accounting issue. A fellow subscriber, a barrister and an expert in employment matters offered his advice: "Nick, go for it, I see no legal issue here, and if you get sued, I'll defend you for free." He said that in all earnest, but what I heard is: "If the parachute fails to open, the funeral is on us".
Softly and gently may work for employees, but it is costly and unnecessary to the business. 

3. “Sit tight and watch” 

Put emotions aside - the road to hell is paved with good intentions. In the kind of pandemic we are in now, doing absolutely nothing is an option as good as any. Until we get better understanding of what is really going on, the severity of crisis and health implications, rattling and fiddling with employment arrangements could be counterproductive. At the end of the day, our goal should be to survive, regroup and move on. While it is difficult to estimate what percentage of businesses will opt for "sit and wait", right now the idea of treading cautiously does make a lot of sense. At the end of the day, neither brute force nor coercion will make business relationships stronger. Empathy and cooperation will.

Judging by your replies and suggestions, one thing is clear: the vast majority of us here are normal people. Passionate, and perhaps, confused, but well intended. And the good news is that no matter what, common sense will prevail, and most of us will survive this madness. I am happy to say that I got my second Pfizer at exactly 10:30 today. The whole process from arranging the vaccination to the vaccination itself was smooth, and professionally conducted by health workers. I have no reason to doubt medical science nor to question the Government’s intentions. I am taking a calculated risk and I am perfectly happy with my choice. And equally, I respect your choice too. 
For further reading:
https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au/coronavirus-and-australian-workplace-laws/covid-19-vaccinations-and-the-workplace

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