Let’s Not Overcomplicate HR’s Role in COVID Vaccination
A COVID vaccination is now available. There are still many unknowns regarding how COVID vaccination will play out in the business arena. Most related issues will be out of the hands of organizations and not something HR will be called upon to make judgement on or devise policy. The legal, discrimination, data privacy, anti-vaccination, exemption based on existing health conditions, and other issues will be decided in the light of changing conditions and by others, including governments, health departments and business owners. The challenge for HR is data management and not policy, for now.
HR Should Not Make Vaccination Policy
HR cannot make sustainable policy that will determine whether vaccination status is a requirement for employment: That is, can a person be refused employment because they haven’t been vaccinated. Similarly, HR cannot guarantee a COVID free workplace based on 100% of employees having been vaccinated. Other factors come into play that could lead to contamination from non-employees. The immediate impact is a change from “employer of choice”, to “employer of safety” in order for a company to better compete for talent. Tracking vaccination data using the latest technology to contribute to a safe workplace should be our goal.
HR can only operate within a narrow scope for now. Like any other personal medical data, the vaccination information belongs to the employee and it is their call whether that want to share that information or not. HR can only ensure employee data privacy.
The Proposed Vaccination Card Solution is Flawed
The rush to get mass vaccination in the UK has resulted in the production of a card system known as the UK Covid-19 Vaccination Card. The card has already raised concerns from human rights groups and the authenticity of the card and its ability to be immune from fraud has come into question. When you take a close look at the card, seen below, you can imagine how easily that could lead to misuse.
The card could not be taken on face value by any verifying body. It needs to be validated by someone who knows the person and identity is supported by more than a name on a card. The consequences of false use of a card could lead to entire country lockdowns and no one wants to go down that path again.
The Solution is an Immutable Blockchain Record
The only safe way of recording verified employee vaccination status is to attach the data to an employee’s immutable blockchain record that cannot be altered by anyone other than the verifying source: In this case it would be employee’s employer, or more specifically, the company’s HR person.
HR will need to Verify Vaccination Status
If an employee decides to be vaccinated, and needs that information to be verified, it can be an HR role to certify that evidence has been sighted. HR already verify the sighting of other documents such as birth certificates, driver’s license, passports, education qualifications, etc. That is part of HR’s job at present.
Whilst there are many unknowns one thing is certain: International borders will remain closed to travellers until evidence of verified vaccination can be established. That is why airlines are looking to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and their Travel Pass initiative to provide evidence of vaccination before allowing travel. HR’s role can be to confirm vaccination evidence has been sighted and verified for their employees only. That would, at least, enable international business travel and open up economic activity.
Integration with IATA’s Travel Pass
The DeHR consortium has a global blockchain solution that includes vaccination status. Now, DeHR’s application is looking to connect with IATA’s Travel Pass via the Lab App Interoperability gateway shown in this article’s image. A Pilot Program is expected to be launched by the end of this year to confirm DeHR’s readiness.
DeHR has a bulk loading strategy that would see employee owned data currently held in HR legacy systems uploaded to their blockchain application within weeks and be ready to include Vaccination Status data as it is processed by HR.
Whether an employee decides to share vaccination evidence with their employer or not the simple question that can be asked by an employer to a job candidate or existing employee is: “Are you eligible to travel internationally?”. Company policy on vaccination status does not need to be externalized and can change according to circumstances. Only travel eligibility, whether a current requirement of the job or not, will need to be the only question asked and other decisions that need to be made, at that point in time, can be based on that answer. HR’s role is simply to confirm evidence if requested by an employee.
Finally, there is risks associated with any program that is fast tracked. If something emerges during the next twelve months, such as a faulty vaccination batch, unforeseen side effects, or immunity does not last as long as expected, then a centralized record of who had what vaccination, when and by what vaccination batch could be critical in tracing people to contact. That should be HR’s focus rather than policy issues.
DISCLOSURE: The author is a founding member of the Decentralized HR Consortium developing a global workforce database for employee owned data. HR Associations around the world have been invited to participate in the governance process to ensure the authenticity of the membership of a scalable blockchain. IATA ‘s Travel Pass is one of the many interoperable applications that can be linked to an employee’s record and give the employee the choice whether they wish to share the data or not. The author is also a former Manager HR Information & Systems with an Australian airline, understands the aviation environment and has participated in the development and managed the global implementation of their HRIS.
For more information about the DeHR consortium’s Employee Owned Data initiative or participate in the Vaccination Status Pilot Program contact [email protected]