Manage Vaccination Policies and Paperwork

The current rollout of COVID-19 vaccines amid varying public views has resulted in employers grappling with different policies. Organizations are deciding whether to implement mandatory vaccination policies, incentivized vaccination programs, or strategies that leave it up to employees to decide whether they will be vaccinated – all while continuing to enforce other workplace safety measures.

Whether or not your organization decides* to enforce mandatory vaccinations, you might need solutions to plan for, track and report on vaccine status for workforces and/or patients. Additionally, employees need a way to securely self-attest their health status – whether they’ve been vaccinated, when the doses were administered, and which vaccine they received.

New processes bring new questions

Managing vaccine records poses new questions and requirements for employers. Depending on the policy they move forward with, organizations may need to create a number of new processes to:

• Verify and document employee vaccinations
• Establish record keeping protocols for employees’ medical information
• Document and administer accommodation requests
• Address non-compliance with policies 

Additionally, employers must keep employees’ vaccination status and underlying conditions confidential in accordance with the Canadian Human Rights Act, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and The Officer of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.  Whether an employer may require or mandate COVID-19 vaccination is a matter of provincial or other applicable law. If an employer requires employees to provide proof that they have received a COVID-19 vaccination, the employer cannot mandate that the employee provide any medical information as part of the proof.

Moving forward, employers will need to stay current on forthcoming legal developments, which may include new recommendations from public health authorities and/or worker protections from federal or provincial agencies. Employers need this data in order to plan for different scenarios and make real time decisions regarding who returns to the office/work space, capacity for certain sites/buildings and more.

Digital processes for vaccination documentation

To create new vaccine processes and policies so that they’re effective and easy to follow, organizations need to approach them in a digital-first way. Human Resources teams can take advantage of electronic signature technology, pre-built templates, PowerForms and integrations with existing HR solutions like Workday, ServiceNow, Salesforce and other systems.

• Clearly communicate, distribute and implement policies: Employees need to know their organization’s stance on employee vaccinations and returning safely to work as soon as possible. Additionally, employees need to be able to communicate their needs and current health conditions to their employer. HR teams can use pre-built templates to generate employee consent forms, bulk send to distribute updates en masse to employees, and eSignature technology for signing or acknowledgement of documents.
• Collect documentation: Teams will need to plan for a process to collect vaccination records, employee exemptions to vaccinations and/or exceptions to returning to work location. PowerForms makes it easy to provide vaccine updates by providing a self-service signing experience for employees.
• Store employee data: With pre-built integrations, HR teams can send electronic documentation through partner solutions like Workday, ServiceNow, Salesforce and more so that employee records are stored centrally.

By creating these new processes in a digital-first way, organizations can:

• Save time on the back end by digitizing processes for employee signature and document management
• Simplify the actions needed from HR teams and employees
• Stay compliant by standardizing the digital footprint for employee documentation and signatures
• Maintain employee safety as a priority by distributing policies and procedures in an efficient, timely matter
• Provide an intuitive modern experience for HR and for employees

*DocuSign understands the sensitivity of this topic and is not encouraging employers to track or not to track employee vaccinations. Rather, we are here to provide solutions for employers to navigate the many challenges presented by Covid-19 including helping to generate, distribute, and collect employee signatures on documents.