Employers in education, police and New Zealand Defence Force fields will be able to employ unvaccinated people and allow unvaccinated employees on leave to return to work.
But further guidance is yet to be given on what this all means for employees whose employment was terminated based on the mandates at the time.
As if Covid-19 hasn't been hard enough for employers, I fear it has just got a lot harder.
It's anticipated the Government will not wish to impose any reinstatement obligations on employers and the advice is the validity of such mandates should not be retrospectively open for challenge.
It will be up to employers with self-imposed mandates to decide if they want to continue with them.
Come Monday, my hope is everyone is respectful of any returning unvaccinated colleagues.
But the reality is this is an emotional topic and people will have strong opinions.
This could put employers in tricky situations. Some are going to have to perform a balancing act as they juggle health and safety requirements, and human rights.
It has the potential to be messy and tensions could rise.
It may mean employees will be under more pressure to review their existing risk assessments and the necessity for continuing with their own mandates going forward.
It will be on a case-by-case basis.
We could see more employers adopt workplace bubbles, spacing, and mask-wearing in offices - dare I say it, a new norm.
The past two years have been - and dare I say it again - unprecedented. It has been a game with ever-changing rules and hard for employers and employees to navigate.
It all comes down to what Christie McGregor calls "good faith" and respectful conversations that will need to be had.
The easing of mandates and vaccine passes should be celebrated. The bumpy Covid road is one we have navigated before and we can do it again.
