In the UK, employers are permitted to collect health data from employees to the extent that the information is necessary to ensure the safety of the workplace, meaning you are allowed to collect vaccination data – providing the reasons for doing so are in the interest of improving the safety of the business. (https://www.insideprivacy.com/covid-19/covid-19-processing-of-vaccination-data-by-employers/)
There are several aspects to consider when making the decision to collect employee vaccination status data, not least ensuring that the data is collected, stored and retained and accessed in line with data protection obligations and businesses need to ensure that GDPR compliance is maintained when making these decisions.
Having access to vaccination information can play a key part in managing Covid-related health and safety risk and assist you in making important decisions around removing/stepping up Covid restrictions, as well as influence your judgments when it comes to reopening sites or departments.
Moreover, recording the Vaccination status of employees will enable you to make data-driven decisions such as:
- Identifying which employees can return to the office
- Reopening certain parts of the business for in-person interactions
- Splitting employees into cohorts
- Tracking vulnerable employees who have not yet been vaccinated (whether by age, medical reasoning or personal choice)
- Allowing visitors to come on to your site
- Gaining visibility as to when your workforce could be back up and running at full capacity, allowing for long term planning
Aside from the challenges of ensuring compliance with data protection and security regulation, there are also challenges associated with maintaining up to date records for real-time and centralised visibility of data, a particular problem for large workforces with staff scattered across multiple locations including those working from home.
For a no obligation discussion regarding how the AssessNET Safe2Day software can help your business to capture, store and analyse vaccination data, call us on 01908 915272 or book a personalised demonstration.
