Covid 19 Delta outbreak: More than half of businesses not planning to offer incentives for vaccination

Should businesses be providing incentives for staff to get vaccinated? Photo / File

More than half of businesses don't plan to offer incentives to get their staff vaccinated.

Research by Business New Zealand found 55 per cent would not offer any incentive and 27 per cent were unsure.

One business that is providing incentives is Westpac New Zealand.

Westpac's head of human resources manager Marc Figgins told Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB that the bank wanted to encourage vaccination and hoped other big businesses would follow.

"We are providing two half days of leave to get shots and we have also given an additional day of Covid leave to use before the end of the year to help support families getting vaccinated."

Figgins said it had been well received.

"People want answers. We are lining up expert advice as part of our onsite vaccination programme as well."

Figgins said it put a big campaign out and a survey to get people's views and get people engaged in the discussion as well as raising awareness and education.

He said 3000 out of 5000 staff had completed the survey so far and 95 per cent had had at least one vaccination or were booked in to have a jab.

"People just want answers, they want support and they want to know that companies are behind them."

Figgins said the onus was on all big business that had scale and resources to get stuck into it.

But asked if he was surprised about the 55 per cent who did not plan to provide incentives, Figgins said many were doing it tough at the moment.

"It doesn't have to be a financial incentive. I would say help where you can and whatever way you can and that is getting education, advice or even time off. Time is pretty important to people at the moment. A bit of time off would go a long way."

Figgins said whether vaccination should be mandatory was a live issue.

"We are definitely doing a lot of planning on it and we are talking with other big companies. Right now the focus is getting everyone vaccinated and I reckon that is the mission and if big business can get in behind that and lead the way that is the path forward."

He said Westpac did not differentiate between workers on the front line and those not dealing directly with the public.

"As soon as they step out the door we are all in the community. As we come back into different levels we will look at everything we can to support people."

But employment specialist Max Whitehead said incentives did not work.

"What does work is getting people worried and the more they see they are at risk we are going to see more and more people get jabbed. It works in the Government's favour right now and they don't want to be the bad guy."

Whitehead said employers face tough decisions around vaccination with some trying to work if they could let unvaccinated workers go.

He said a worker could sue their boss for not keeping them safe.

"If a worker perceives they are in an unsafe situation because they are serving [an unvaccinated person] at a bar, restaurant or cafe that employer is in the gun to be sued. And it is likely to be happening very very soon. And already workers are piping up saying I'm not working alongside someone or serving somebody who is unvaccinated."

He pointed to Australia where some businesses have been told that if they served anyone who was unvaccinated the Government would sue them.

Asked how Covid was different to the flu jab when it came to being legally actionable Whitehead said there was a lot of paranoia out there. "And that is where they are feeding on it."